Remembering the Pottstown Area's Five Casualties of the Iraq War

By one count, the Iraq war is directly responsible for 189,000 deaths, not including those who died from hardship caused by the fighting.

In all, 4,802 Americans and allies have died in the war, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, including five people from the Pottstown area.

They include:

• Lt. Col. Mark Patrick Phelan, 44. of Green Lane, who was killed Oct. 13, 2004, by a roadside bomb in Mosul, Iraq. Phelan served with Alpha Company, 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserves.
• 1st Lt. David Richard Bernstein, 24, of Phoenixville, who was killed on Oct. 18, 2003, after his patrol was ambushed by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire in Qutash, Iraq. Bernstein served with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his efforts to rescue a fellow soldier during the ambush.
• Lt. Col. Anthony Lee Sherman, 43, of Pottstown, who was found unconscious in his living quarters in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Despite resuscitation attempts, he died on Aug. 27, 2003. Sherman served with the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Reserves.
• Sgt. John Thomas Bubeck, 24, of Collegeville, who was struck by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on Christmas of 2006. He died a day later. Bubeck served with Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
• Capt. Nathan R. Raudenbush, 25, of Royersford, who died of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered a roadside bomb on Feb. 20, 2008, in Busayefi, Iraq. Raudenbush served with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

Many more servicemembers were killed throughout the county, as well as the state. To view a stunning map showing all casualties of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, visit CNN.com by clicking here.

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