Iraq War Claims Second CWA Member

A second CWA member has died in Iraq. Richard Gilbert Jr., 26, a member of the 31st Marine Expeditionary unit based in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, was one of 30 Marines and one Navy sailor who perished Jan. 26 when their Super Stallion helicopter went down in a sandstorm near the Jordanian border.

Four more Marines and two Army soldiers died in Iraq that same day in separate incidents, for a total of 37. Nearly 1,500 have now lost their lives since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Richard's loss, along with so many others, is a terrible tragedy," said CWA President Morton Bahr. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family."

Richard, a member of IUE-CWA Local 84775, took leave from his job at the Behr, formerly Chrysler, automotive plant in Dayton, Ohio, in December 2001 to join the Marine Corps following the Sept. 11 attacks, said IUE-CWA President Mike Bindas. He had worked at the plant for six years on the A Bar Line, where he braided coils. He was due to return home and to his job at the plant at the end of this year.

"IUE-CWA offers its prayers and condolences to Richard's family and friends," Bindas said.

Gilbert, a former Sinclair Community College student who attended Patterson Cooperative High School in Dayton, is survived by his father, Richard Sr., mother, Helen, two sisters and a brother. His sister Missy Rader is also a member of Local 84775.

The first CWA member to die in Iraq was Marine Staff Sgt. Jason Lehto who was killed while disarming an explosive.