Soldier's kin blame fatigueSay US military in Iraq are tiredBy John Christoffersen, Associated Press | June 28, 2007
NEW HAVEN -- The family of a soldier killed in Iraq on Monday are blaming his death on exhaustion, saying soldiers there are not getting enough rest.
Private First Class Andre Craig Jr., 24, of New Haven, died of wounds sustained from the explosion of a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
Craig, a graduate of Wilbur Cross High School, was an infantryman assigned to the Second Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, Fourth Infantry Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan.
He entered the Army in October 2005 and began serving with the First Infantry Division in March 2006. It was his first deployment to Iraq.
Craig, whose nickname was Dre, called his family by cellphone Saturday to tell them he was on 24-hour security duty, said Erik Brown, his godfather and family spokesman. After that, Craig went out on a mission and was killed, he said.
"He was very tired; he was exhausted," Brown said yesterday. "Due to that exhaustion, we believe that's why we lost Andre. The soldiers are not getting rest. They're tired."
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