Frederick A. Carlson

Army Spc. Frederick A. Carlson

25, of Bethlehem, Pa.; assigned to the 228th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Bethlehem, Pa.; died March 25 from a non-combat-related cause in Taqqadum, Iraq. The incident is under investigation.








Pa. National Guardsman killed in Iraq; autopsy pending

Associated Press

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Pennsylvania National Guard soldier was found unconscious in his barracks in Iraq on Saturday and died a short time later at a hospital, the military announced Monday.

Frederick A. Carlson IV, 25, of Bethlehem, died in Taqqadum, west of Baghdad. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, said Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Carlson, who had been in Iraq for seven months, was assigned to the 228th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard, based in Bethlehem.

A graduate of Liberty High School, Carlson belonged to a quick-reaction force that “many times engaged with the enemy,” Cleaver said.

Survivors include his 11-month-old son, Frederick Carlson V; his mother and father; and his girlfriend.

Carlson is the 25th soldier of the Pennsylvania National Guard to be killed in action in Iraq. More than 2,200 Pennsylvania National Guard troops are currently serving in Iraq.