Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

George T. Alexander Jr. (August 5, 1971 – October 22, 2005) was the 2,000th

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soldier killed in combat in Iraq since the beginning of the

2003 Invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, according to the Associated Press. He was serving as a crewman on a M2 Bradley combat vehicle when he was mortally wounded. Alexander, an African-American, died October 22, 2005, at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas after being treated for injuries sustained five days earlier, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2 Bradley in the city of

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...

. A 1989 graduate of

Chilton County High School Chilton County High School (CCHS) is a secondary school located in Clanton, Alabama, which educates Educational stages, grades ninth grade, 9-twelfth grade, 12. As of 2017, the school principal is Ron Pinson. The school mascot is the Tiger. Nota ...

, Alexander spent two years working as a construction labourer before joining the military as Desert Storm began. At the time of his death, he was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, of

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia.

Media Attention

The

United States media Mass media in the United States consist of several types of media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and web sites. The U.S. also has a strong music industry. New York City, Manhattan in particular, and to a lesser extent ...

noted this death above many others, as it was the 2,000th since the start of active combat, a number generally recognized as significant. Articles ran on such sites as CNN.co

featuring the soldier. In contrast, the Pentagon downplayed the death — Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, told the Associated Press that "the 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone, it is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives." Alexander's death sparked Senators and Congressmen to debate the merits of the war again, something that had not been done in months, with Senators such as Dick Durbin making statements on the war. Peace activists cast the 2,000th combat death as a milestone in what they believe to be an unnecessary and unwinnable war. Immediately following the report of his death, six hundred anti-war protests and candlelight

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

s were held in the United States on October 26, 2005

References

* Faulk, Kent.
"Soldier fought to make difference"
', The

Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...

. October 27, 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2005. * Salles, Andre.
"Vigil notes 2000 U.S. war dead"
', The Beacon News. October 27, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2005. * Cannon, Jason.
"Roadside bomb kills Clanton soldier"
', The Clanton Advertiser. October 26, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2005. * Parsons, Claudia & Quinn, Andrew.
"US military death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000"
', Reuters. October 25, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2005. *
"DoD Identifies Army Casualty"
', United States Department of Defense. October 25, 2005. Retrieved October 29, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, George 1971 births 2005 deaths People from Killeen, Texas United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of the Iraq War American military personnel killed in the Iraq War Military personnel from San Antonio African-American United States Army personnel

Media Attention

See also

References