2 more soldiers from Fort Lewis killed in Iraq

The Defense Department on Tuesday reported the deaths of two more soldiers from Fort Lewis, bringing to 13 the number of soldiers with ties to this state killed in Iraq this month.

Killed June 10 in Karbala, Iraq, were Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, of Medical Lake, near Spokane, and Cpl. Meresebang Ngiraked, 21, of Koror, Palau, an island nation east of the Philippines. Both were assigned to Battery B, 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment based at Fort Lewis. The unit moved to Fort Lewis from South Korea in April 2006 and went to Iraq in February 2007.

	Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, of Medical Lake, near Spokane.

The two Fort Lewis soldiers died together in a blast from a roadside bomb with a third soldier from the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, Spc. Adam G. Herold, 23, of Omaha, Neb.

More than 10,000 soldiers from Fort Lewis serve in Iraq, most of them with two Stryker brigades, each made up of nearly 4,000 troops.

So far in 2007, 57 members of the armed forces with ties to Washington have been killed in Iraq. The worst yearly death toll previously was 53 in all of 2004.

More than 200 military service members from Washington have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, 131 of them from Fort Lewis.

Fender and Ngiraked both joined the Army in 2004 and trained in occupations as Avenger air- and missile-defense crew members.

	Cpl. Meresebang Ngiraked, 21, of Koror, Palau, a Pacific island.

Ngiraked is the second U.S. military casualty from Palau to die in Iraq. Palau is an independent republic in free association with the U.S.

Fender's parents in Medical Lake declined to comment and released a statement through Fort Lewis:

"Cpl. Llythaniele Fender will never be forgotten. He was a wonderful son and brother with a huge heart who served his country with great pride, and we send our hearts out to the men and women who have served and are serving this great country, both stateside and overseas. As our son would say, 'Rock On 'Till The End.' "

On his MySpace.com Web site, Fender's parents left a similar message announcing his death for his many friends.

Though Fender's hometown was listed by the Pentagon as Medical Lake, his MySpace Web site said he had lived many places but considered Onawa, Iowa, to be his hometown. He graduated from high school there in 2004. He also said he went to a high school in Colorado for two years before moving to Iowa in 2002.

Fender introduced his MySpace site as coming "from the sands of hell!! (Iraq)!!"

Under a heading titled "heroes," Fender honored "Mom and Dad for raising a son who will go through hell, high water sandstorms and anything to get home to see them -- my friends, family and the class of 2004 ... again to say how much I love u all even if it's the small bond of friendship that I have and I need to get through all of the hard times and the best times in life!!!!

"I love u all."

A classmate from his Iowa high school wrote on Sunday:

"We will miss you so much here ... you have done a great thing serving for our country and growing up across the street from you was awesome ... you will be missed by so many! Loves and peace."