Long Beach Press Telegram

Long Beach Army Sgt. Killed in Iraq
Sgt. Anthony J. Davis Jr. is the city's fifth Iraq loss
By Kristopher Hanson
Staff writer

Monday, April 25, 2005 - An Army sergeant from Long Beach has been killed in northern Iraq, becoming the city's fifth member of the armed forces to die in the war-torn nation since the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

Sgt. Anthony J. Davis Jr., 22, was killed Saturday afternoon when a car bomb exploded next to his armored vehicle in Mosul, about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. Davis was riding in a 19-ton, eight-wheeled armored troop transport vehicle known as a Stryker when a car bomb detonated nearby, U.S. Department of Defense officials said Monday.

Davis, who listed a Long Beach address when he enlisted in August 2001, was married and had two children, Army officials said. Family could not be reached for comment Monday, and it was not clear how long he had lived in Long Beach.

The explosion apparently occurred near the ancient city's heavily traveled al-Yarmouk Circle as U.S. soldiers patrolled the area for insurgents, according to The Associated Press. It was unclear if anyone else was injured in the attack.

Davis, an infantryman, was deployed to Iraq in October from Fort Lewis, Wash., where he'd been stationed with the Army's 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Stryker Force Combat Team.

The unit has spent the past several months in and around Mosul, and played a major role in securing the city of more than 1.5 million for the Jan. 30 national elections.

"He was over there supporting the Iraqi people and helping them secure a democratic government for themselves," said Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Hitt.

Not long after the blast, Saleh Ibrahim, an Associated Press Television News cameraman, was fatally wounded after responding to the scene of an explosion in Mosul and being hit by gunfire. Authorities in Iraq are working to determine if the incidents are related.

Davis' death comes nearly three months after Army Pfc. Stephen Anthony Castellano of Long Beach died from a gunshot wound suffered during an apparent accident in Mosul. Castellano, 20, had been stationed in the area with another Army unit.

Davis is Long Beach's fifth known member of the armed forces to die in Iraq.

Twenty-three-year-old Army Spc. Edgar Daclan Jr. was fatally wounded in an explosion near Balad on Sept. 10, 2004, and Army Pfc. Lyndon Anson Marcus Jr., 21, was killed when the Humvee he was riding in crashed into a ditch outside Balad on May 3, 2004.

Marine Pfc. George Torres was killed April 11, 2003 in a gunfight west of Baghdad.

Davis has been awarded several medals, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, Hitt said.

A memorial service in Washington is planned for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Evergreen Chapel at Fort Lewis. Information on local services was unavailable Monday.

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