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IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 943-03
December 12, 2003

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the identity of an Army soldier supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom who has been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN).

            Spc. Todd M. Bates, 20, of Bellaire, Ohio, was on a river patrol on the Tigris River south of Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 10 when his squad leader fell overboard.   Bates dived into the water and did not surface.   Bates has been placed in duty status whereabouts unknown.  He is assigned to the 135th Military Police Company, Army National Guard based in Brookpark, Ohio.

            The incident is under investigation.