Two Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers died over the Fourth of July weekend of injuries received in Afghanistan – one in an accident and one in combat, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
They are Pfc. Jacob A. Dennis, 22, of Powder Springs, Ga., and Sgt. Andrew J. Creighton, 23, of Laurel, Del.
They are the 40th and 41st Afghanistan-related deaths from the local base reported in the last year, but the first since May.
June was the most deadly month on record for U.S. troops since the war began. Lewis-McChord Stryker troops, however, have been spared the worst of the violence this summer because they are in the process of coming home from their year-long deployment.
Dennis died Saturday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after he was injured June 30 in a weapons system accident at Forward Operating Base Lane in Zabul Province.
The Army said the incident is under investigation.
Creighton, a Special Forces soldier, died Sunday in Oruzgan Province from injuries sustained in combat there. The Pentagon release provided no further details.
Dennis was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He enlisted Sept. 12, 2006, and received basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He reported to Lewis-McChord in 2007, and his Stryker brigade deployed to Afghanistan a year ago. This was his first deployment.
TV station WAGA of Atlanta reported that members of Dennis’ family were on their way to Germany to be with him, but he died before they could arrive.
The station quoted his brother Sam Dennis saying that the soldier wanted to be on the front lines: “He was in the middle of everything, that’s the best way to describe him.”
Creighton was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Lewis-McChord.
The Army Times reported that he began his military service in 2003. The Delaware News Journal said that in addition to Afghanistan, he had served in Iraq and in the Philippines.
Creighton’s brother Allen told the newspaper that his brother deployed to Afghanistan this past winter and that he had only a few weeks left in the country when he died.
“He had every college opportunity anybody could ever want,” Allen Creighton told the newspaper. But he chose military service instead. “He heard the call more than most guys.”
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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