Maj. Gen. Mike Murray, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, shared his thoughts and feelings Monday about a report of another 3rd ID casualty.
According to the Department of Defense, Spc. James T. Wickliffchacin, 22, died Sept. 20 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team soldier died from injuries caused by an improvised explosive device that detonated Aug. 12 while his unit was conducting a dismounted patrol in Pul-E-Alam, Afghanistan.
Wickliffchacin, a native of Edmond, Okla., was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment. He joined the Army in June 2010 and arrived at Fort Stewart in October that year.
“It’s never good news to find out you’ve lost a soldier. This one was particularly painful (because) he was injured a good while ago. We thought he had a good chance of surviving. Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse recently, and we lost him on Friday,” Murray said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, and we will be with them at the funeral. The mission in Afghanistan continues, (however). We still have a lot of 4th (IBCT) soldiers there.”