TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy and Major General Lisa Hou, the Adjutant General of the New Jersey National Guard and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, on June 4th, issued statements in remembrance of four New Jersey National Guard members who were killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom 20 years ago.

“On June 4th, marks 20 years since the war in Iraq tragically claimed the lives of four New Jersey National Guard members. In just two days, we lost four exceptional Soldiers, irrevocably changing the lives of their families and loved ones. As the first and only New Jersey National Guard casualties in Iraq, the losses of Staff Sgts. Frank Carvill and Humberto Timoteo, Sgt. Ryan Doltz, and Spc. Christopher Duffy were devastating to our state’s military community,” said Governor Murphy. “Twenty years after these servicemembers made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our state and country, we continue to honor their valiance, bravery, and courage. We owe a debt of gratitude to all of our fallen heroes, and today honor four of our bravest.”

“On the twentieth anniversary of June 4th and June 5th, we hold dear the memories of our four brothers in arms. Together with their families and comrades, we honor and remember their sacrifice,” said Maj. Gen. Lisa J. Hou, D.O., Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Adjutant General of New Jersey. “We will never forget.”

On June 4, 2004, an IED ambush claimed the lives of Staff Sgt. Frank Carvill, of Carlstadt, and Spc. Christopher Duffy, of Brick. Staff Sgt. Humberto Timoteo, of Newark, and Sgt. Ryan Doltz, of Mine Hill, were killed in a separate IED attack on June 5, 2004. The Soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion of the 112th Field Artillery, and they were the only New Jersey National Guard members to be killed in action in Iraq.