The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel who died in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and the Mediterranean:
Michael S. Cote Jr., 20, of Denham Springs, La.; specialist, Army. Cote was killed Sept. 19 when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed during high winds that whipped up a fierce sandstorm followed by thunder, lightning and rain in Balad, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49 at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska.
Matthew R. Courtois, 22, of Lucas, Texas; senior airman, Air Force. Courtois died of noncombat-related injuries Sept. 20 at Abdullah Al Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait, where he was serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was assigned to the 366th Security Forces Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
David A. Davis, 28, of Dalhart, Texas; sergeant, Army. Davis was killed Sept. 19 in a mortar attack on Bagram airfield -- the main base for U.S.-led troops -- north of Kabul, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 32nd Transportation Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 43rd Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.
James R. Hornbarger, 33, of Marysville, Calif.; technical sergeant, Air Force. Hornbarger died of noncombat-related injuries Sept. 12 while stationed in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, where he was serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, north of Sacramento.
Corey J. Kowall, 20, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; specialist, Army. Kowall was one of two killed Sept. 20 when their vehicle overturned while responding to a convoy that needed help after it struck a roadside bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Zabol province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.
John J. Malone, 24, of Yonkers, N.Y.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Malone was killed in combat Thursday in western Afghanistan's Farah province, on the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
William L. Meredith, 26, of Virginia Beach, Va.; private first class, Army. Meredith was killed Monday when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 569th Engineer Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Carson, Colo.
