United States Department of Defense

           

            The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

            Sgt. Andrew Joseph Baddick, 26, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., drowned Sept. 29 as he tried to rescue another soldier whose vehicle had entered a canal near Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq.

 

            Baddick was assigned to 1^st Battalion, 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82^nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

 

            Pfc. Kristian E. Parker, 23, of Slidell, La., died on Sept. 29 at Camp AS Sayliyah, Qatar.  Parker died from non-combat related injuries.

 

            Parker was assigned to the 205^th Engineer Battalion, Army National Guard, Slidell, La.

 

            These incidents are under investigation.