CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — A 256th Brigade Combat Team soldier has died from injuries sustained in a roadside bomb attack that occurred last month in Iraq, military officials confirmed Saturday.
Spc. Craig Nelson, 21, of Shreveport, La., died Dec. 29 during surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., officials said. According to Louisiana National Guard officials, Nelson had been paralyzed from the neck down since the Dec. 16 attack outside of Baghdad.
Nelson was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment of the 256th Brigade Combat Team.
Nelson’s death is the second in just over a week for the unit. Second Lt. Christopher W. Barnett, a 32-year-old from Denham Springs, La., was killed by a roadside bomb Dec. 23 and was buried Friday in his hometown. Both soldiers were given posthumous promotions, officials said.
According to an Associated Press report from Louisiana, Nelson’s parents had flown from his hometown to Walter Reed to be with the soldier. Funeral details were still pending, family members said.
The 256th Brigade Combat Team deployed to Kuwait in early October and has been responsible for an area of operations north and west of Baghdad, including the area around the Baghdad International Airport.
