Posted on 06/11/2005 12:24:03 PM PDT by parcel_of_rogues
The U.S. Army launched a criminal investigation yesterday into the deaths of two New York National Guard officers who were killed while they were sleeping in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.
The military initially reported that Capt. Phillip Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, both assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division, died late Tuesday as the result of an "indirect fire" attack on the palace in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.
Col. Bill Buckner, spokesman for the Multi-National Corps in Iraq, revised the record.
"The evidence indicates that this was not indeed caused by a mortar attack," he said.
A military source told the Daily News, "We don't believe their deaths were caused by an enemy combat attack. We believe there was a crime here."
Esposito was a company commander and Allen served as a company operations officer.
Buckner said investigators have not detained any suspects. Nor would he speculate on whether the killers could have been fellow soldiers or what caused the blasts.
Word that Esposito, a Wall Street broker, and Allen, the son of a retired a city cop, died under suspicious circumstances sent waves of anguish through the soldiers' families.
"Right now they don't know for sure what happened," said a friend of Esposito's parents who was reached at the slain soldier's Pearl River home. "Their son paid the ultimate sacrifice and they're both very upset."
In Milford, Pa., where Allen lived with his wife, Barbara, and four young sons, a neighbor said she wasn't certain the widow even knew about the Army investigation.
"She was crushed when Lou died," said the neighbor, who declined to give her name. "This ... this will kill her."
Esposito, 30, a 1997 West Point graduate, was married to Siobhan McMahon and they had a young daughter, Madeline Rose. He worked for Salomon Smith Barney in Manhattan and was deployed to Iraq six months ago.
Allen, 39, was the son of retired NYPD cop Robert Allen. He was one of the guardsmen deployed to Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks and had been in Iraq for just 10 days.
Soldiers reported four explosions destroyed the ground-floor room where Esposito and Allen had been sleeping in one of the many marble buildings of the sprawling palace complex built around a man-made lake. The Army occupied the facility in 2003 and renamed it Forward Operating Base Danger. Despite its name, attacks on the base have been so rare that soldiers there are not required to wear their body armor.
"We are evaluating all possible threats to our soldiers," Buckner said. "We are taking all measures to ensure the safety of our soldiers."
Known as the "Rainbow Division," the 42nd is based upstate and draws soldiers from several Northeastern states.
The only confirmed "fragging" of officers in the Iraq war occurred in the days before the invasion began. A court-martial in April convicted an Army sergeant of murdering two officers in a grenade attack in Kuwait.
By JOSE MARTINEZ and CORKY SIEMASZKO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS With Thomas M. DeFrank
Lou Allen was my daughter's physics teacher and a great guy. Unfortunately the story is getting more confusing and painful with each passing day. Just asking for prayers for his family. His student's are in the process of putting together a scholarship fund for his 4 kids.
They are not giving much away in that article.
Oh, silly me--these were AMERICANS who lost their lives! Sorry, feel so silly for even thinking they would give three seconds's consideration to AMERICANS...
Prayers for both victims... mighty warriors!
Now that you mention it, this is the first time I've see the Kuwait crime called a "Fragging." That was a flat out attack by one of our own terrorists.
Regardless, the crime that happened on Tuesday must be having a terrible impact on the units of the 42nd Div.
Bump
Bumping for more info.
Anyone have anything further on this?
Thank you.
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