Local service members lost in wartime

Snohomish and Island county troops who have died during the last five years of war:

Marine Corps reservist Lance Cpl. Dustin L. Canham, 21, of Lake Stevens died Sunday in what the military has described as a “nonhostile incident” in the eastern African nation of Djibouti. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group based in Portland, Ore.

Army Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson, 28, who once lived in Everett, died March 10 when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb in Balad Ruz, Iraq. He was a member of the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Spc. Vincent G. Kamka, 23, died Oct. 4, 2007, in Bayji; his death is under investigation. He listed his hometown as Everett but grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Pvt. Michael A. Baloga, 21, of Everett died July 26, 2007, in Muqdadiyah of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.

Two Whidbey Island Naval Air Station sailors died July 17, 2007, during combat operations in Salah Ad Din province. They are Navy Chief Petty Officer Patrick L. Wade, 38, of Key West, Fla., and Navy Petty Officer First Class Jeffrey L. Chaney, 35, of Omaha, Neb. They were assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11.

Marine Lance Cpl. Shawn V. Starkovich, 20, of Arlington died July 16, 2007, in a noncombat incident in Anbar province.

Three Whidbey Island Naval Air Station sailors died April 6, 2007, when a rocket was fired at their vehicle. They are Navy Chief Petty Officer Gregory J. Billiter, 36; Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Adam McSween, 26; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Curtis Hall, 24. They were all members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11.

Marine Maj. Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville died Dec. 6, 2006, while supporting combat operations in Anbar province.

Army Spc. Jordan W. Hess, 26, of Marysville died Dec. 5, 2006, at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, after being wounded Nov. 11, 2006, when a roadside bomb exploded near his combat patrol in Ta’Meem.

Army Sgt. Charles Matheny IV, 23, of Arlington died Feb. 18, 2006, in Baghdad after an explosive detonated near his vehicle.

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, 22, of Snohomish died May 30, 2005, in combat operations in Ramadi.

Marine machine gunner Pfc. Cody Calavan, 19, of Lake Stevens was killed May 29, 2004, in a car bombing in Anbar province.

Marine Cpl. Steven A. Rintamaki, 21, of Lynnwood died Sept. 16, 2004, in action in Anbar province.

Army paratrooper Spc. Justin W. Hebert, 20, of Silvana died Aug. 1, 2003, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Humvee he was driving near Baghdad.

Also killed was Mariner High School graduate Todd Drobnick, 35, a translator for San Diego defense contractor Titan Corp. He died Nov. 23, 2003, in Mosul in a petroleum truck collision.

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