Details Released In Death Of Wisconsin Soldier In Iraq
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Posted: 3:51 PM Oct 26, 2006
Details Released In Death Of Wisconsin Soldier In Iraq
Died Seconds Before Delayed Helicopter Arrived
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A Wisconsin National Guard soldier killed on his first mission in Iraq last summer waited nearly an hour after being seriously wounded by a roadside bomb before a medical helicopter rushed him to a military hospital.

That detail of Specialist Stephen W. Castner's death is among military documents provided to his family that his father released Thursday.

The father, Stephen L. Caster, says a breakdown in radio communication procedures helped delay the medical treatment for his son after he was seriously wounded in the legs by a roadside bomb.

But, the Army reports that its probe of the incident last July found that Castner and other soldiers were properly trained to escort the convoy of supplies, and they conducted a textbook example of how to handle similar situations.

The military records indicate that the soldier was trapped in his Humvee for 30 minutes in a canal after the explosion. A helicopter arrived 53 minutes after the attack to take him to a hospital. The records show that Castner's heart stopped beating about 30 seconds before the helicopter landed at the hospital. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

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