Sgt. 1st Class Sean Cooley Remembered

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Feb. 3 will mark six years that Sgt. 1st Class Sean Michael Cooley lost his life while fighting in Northern Babil Province, Iraq.

Cooley died during 2005 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

An Ocean Springs resident, Cooley was assigned to the 150th Engineer Battalion, 155th Armor Brigade of the Mississippi National Guard in Lucedale.

See other information at FallenHeroesMemorial and MilitaryTimes.

http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/

http://www.militarytimes.com/

Cooley was the 21st soldier with Mississippi ties to die in the war on terror, and the fifth Mississippi National Guardsman to die in Iraq, according to MilitaryTimes.

3 Soldiers Stationed in Jackson Killed

When it rains it pours, and misery loves comany.

Just like that, within days of one family's loss three more soldiers with ties to Mississippi have lost their lives. One is a native of the state while other two lived in America's eastern region. All three were stationed in Jackson, according to a news report .

News at www.wlox.com said the Department of Defense announced their deaths today.

Three Members of Mississippi Guard Killed in Afghanistan

Sgt. 1st Class Severin W. Summers III, 43, of Bentonia was killed along with Capt. Ronald G. Luce Jr., 27, of Fayetteville, N.C., and Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Granado, 42, of Fairfax, Va., on Sunday, Aug. 2, in Afghanistan. Their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Their deaths in Qole Gerdsar follow that of Gulfport native Staff Sgt. Johnny Roosevelt Polk, 39, who reportedly died July 31 from injuries after being struck by an anti-tank grenade July 23. He was serving in Iraq.

The Defense Department's website said the three soldiers were members of the Mississippi Army National Guard and assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Jackson.

According to www. abcnews.com on Monday, 43 American soldiers died in Afghanistan during July. That number is the highest monthly toll of deaths since the war in Afghanistan began eight years ago, the report said.

43 American soldiers killed in July 2009