DoD Identifies Army Casualty

U. S. Department of Defense ^ | April 13, 2003 | U. S. Department of Defense

[68skylark]

The Department of Defense announced today that Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr., 37, of Guilford, Conn., died on August 12 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. A fellow soldier tried to wake Eaton and noticed he was not breathing.

Eaton was assigned to the 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion, U.S. Army Reserves, based at Fort Meade, Md.

Incident is under investigation.

[68skylark]

Here are two other recent casualty identifications:

Spc. Levi B. Kinchen, 21, of Tickfaw, La., died on Aug. 9 in Baghdad, Iraq. A fellow soldier tried to wake Kinchen and noticed he was not breathing. Kinchen was assigned to 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, La.

Pvt. Matthew D. Bush, 20, of East Alton, Ill., died on Aug. 8 in Camp Caldwell, Iraq. A fellow soldier tried to wake Bush and noticed he was not breathing. Bush was assigned to F Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

Do any Freepers with some medical knowledge want to speculate about why these heros are dying in their sleep? Is the stress of heat and/or danger causing these deaths? Is it possible that some healthy peope who aren't in the military sometimes simply die in their sleep also, even in their 20's and we just don't hear about it much (seems unlikely to me).

I'm guessing that many of us who might possibly be deployed to Iraq some day would probably like to know more about this.

[Lazamataz]

Tell ya the truth, these guys are walking around in full body armor in 120 degree heat.

I think some of them are literally cooking.

[templar]

Do any Freepers with some medical knowledge want to speculate about why these heros are dying in their sleep? Is the stress of heat and/or danger causing these deaths?

I have no medical knowlege, but I have heard some talk radio commentators claiming that the pneumonia and other deaths (aparently there are quite a few that aren't reported if what I hear on the talk shows is at all close to correct) are a result of the various vaccines, anthrax mentioned most frequently. I can see that if the vaccines in combination weaken the system and people are deployed to extremely strenuous and hot duty that they could be at least partly responsible. It could also be a wide combination of environmental factors ranging from MRE's to local water supplies being treated by field expedient methods all working together to affect some sensitive persons.

Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about it if you see Iraq in your future. The government would never knowingly allow you to be exposed to any unnescessary risk.

[68skylark]

Yeah. I spent some summers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and learned that a person can go a long time in hot weather if they drink adequate water. But the conditions in Iraq are much worse than anything I've ever been through. It would be my non-medical hunch that the heat is almost too much to bear for some of these soldiers.

I know Freepers all appreciate their service to their country, and to the cause of freedom. These soldiers died heroes.

[Henk]

It may be euphemism for suicide.

[68skylark]

Well, it's good for any citizen to be sceptical, to a point. But if I have to choose, I have lots more faith in what I hear from the Army than what I hear on any radio talk show (except Rush, obviously). The vaccines have never caused me any problem.

[McGavin999]

Extreme heat can have an effect on the heart. It could be they allowed themselves to become dehydrated and it resulted in overstressing their hearts.

When people tell you to DRINK LOTS OF WATER they mean it!

[68skylark]

The euphemism for suicide is "non combat related gunshot wound."

[68skylark]

Yeah, I'm not an expert but I suspect you're right. I suspect it's heat stroke, or the heart becomes weak from the stress of excessive heat and danger.

[McGavin999]

I live in Arizona where the summer temps reach 115 regularly. We see people drop over all the time in the summer. Mostly because dehydration stresses the body more than people realize. Funny thing is, the more dehydrated you become, the less you think about drinking water.

[68skylark]

Okay, I can believe what you're saying. But these people don't typically die in their sleep, do they? It would seem to me that the symptoms would be at their worst when out in the sun, or just coming in from the heat, and not when people turn in for rest.

[Born Conservative]

I don't think that vaccines WEAKEN the immune system; they do, in fact, STIMULATE the immune system. As for the vaccines causing these deaths, I just don't know.

A vaccine is usually made up of partial cells or whole killed cells (the cells being the bacteria or virus that the vaccine is preventing; e.g. the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine-MMR- is made up of these 3 whole killed viruses). By injecting these cells into the body, the immune system recognizes them as "foreign invaders", and produces antibodies ("protection") specifically against that disease (vaccines of today do not cause the disease they are preventing; oral polio vaccine is the most recent vaccine that could cause the disease it was preventing, but it is no longer given in the US). There certainly are side effects to vaccines (some more serious than others), but I'm sure that these would be within a short time after the vaccine, and our personnel in Iraq have probably received these vaccines months ago.

[templar]

I don't think that vaccines WEAKEN the immune system; they do, in fact, STIMULATE the immune system.

So do most diseases.

As for the vaccines causing these deaths, I just don't know.

I kind of doubt that they actually cause the deaths. They could be a significant factor in the overall physical stress our troops are undergoing though. Back when I was in the Army, we got a ton of shots all at once before going overseas and it did knock a few of us off of our feet for days at a time. I recall one man getting hospitalized as a result of a series of vaccinations, but I don't recall which ones. I'm prety sure we still got smallpox back then, but not anthrax.