WASHINGTON, March 25 (UPI) -- The Pentagon Tuesday released the names of nine Marines killed earlier in battle near An Nasiriyah.
As of Tuesday, there were 20 people confirmed killed in action. At least 12 are missing in action and there are two confirmed American prisoners of war.
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday there were additional casualties in fighting in An Nasiriyah Sunday, but it has not specified a number. Reporters embedded with combat units said there were reports of more deaths, but the Pentagon had not confirmed them. CNN reported Monday a total of 39 killed, according to tallies from embedded reporters.
Two U.S. Army pilots are confirmed prisoners of war after their Apache helicopter was downed in Iraq Sunday. Some of the 12 soldiers ambushed Sunday in their supply convoy may also be prisoners of war. Some may have been killed, according to video footage of dead soldiers aired by Iraqi television Sunday. At least five were being interrogated as prisoners of war on the tape.
Confirmed deaths include:
-- Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Cedar Key, Fl. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, Ventura, Calif. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Lance Cpl. David K. Fribley, 26, Lee, Fla. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, Orange, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, Los Angeles, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, Brazoria, Texas. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., 31, Nye, Nev. He was assigned to the Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Slocum, age unknown, Adams, Colo. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Previously confirmed killed-in-action include:
-- Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, 26, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was killed by an accidental discharge of a .50 caliber machine gun in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, of Smithville, Mo., who died in a vehicle accident in Iraq. Hodson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
-- Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, who was killed by a grenade when he was sleeping in a tent at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, on March 22. Seifert was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
-- Army Reserve Spc. Brandon S. Tobler, 19. His hometown was not available. Tobler died in a vehicle accident March 22 in Iraq. Tobler was assigned to the 671st Engineer Brigade, Portland, Ore.
-- 2nd Lt. Therrel S. Childers, 30, Harrison County, Miss., killed in action on March 21 in southern Iraq. Childers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
-- Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 22, Los Angeles, Calif., killed in action March 21 in Southern Iraq. Gutierrez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
-- Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, of La Mesa, Calif., who was killed when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over international waters March 22.
Four U.S. Marines killed in a CH-46E helicopter crash on March 20 in Kuwait were:
-- Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine. Aubin was assigned to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
-- Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill., who was assigned to the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif.;
-- Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, of Houston, Texas, who was assigned to the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif.;
-- Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Watersbey, 29, of Baltimore, who was assigned to the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The confirmed prisoners-of-war are:
-- Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, of Florida; and
-- Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, of Georgia.
Both are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas.
