Daily U.S. Casualties 5/18/2004

Daily U.S. Casualties 5/18/2004

As of Monday, 783 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 571 died as a result of hostile action and 212 died of nonhostile causes.

The British military has reported 58 deaths; Italy, 20; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, six; Ukraine, four; Poland, three; Thailand, two; Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia and the Netherlands have reported one each.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 645 U.S. soldiers have died -- 462 as a result of hostile action and 183 of nonhostile causes, according to the military's numbers.

The latest deaths reported by the U.S. military:


Two 1st Marine Expeditionary Force members were killed in action Monday in Iraq's Anbar province.

The latest identifications reported by the Defense Department:


Army Spc. Philip I. Spakosky, 25, Browns Mill, N.J.; died Friday of injuries sustained when he was shot Thursday in Karbala, Iraq; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany.


Army Pfc. Michael A. Mora, 19, Arroyo Grande, Calif.; died Friday when his vehicle slid off the road and turned over in Najaf, Iraq; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Polk, La.


Army Staff Sgt. Rene Ledesma, 34, Abilene, Texas; killed Saturday by an explosive in Baghdad, Iraq; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.


Air Force Senior Airman Pedro I. Espaillat Jr., 20, Colombia, Tenn.; died Saturday in Kirkuk, Iraq, of non-hostile injuries; assigned to the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.