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By Holbrook Mohr - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 16, 2007 20: 34: 17 EDT

An Air Force security airman killed May 14 had volunteered for his fourth tour because he wanted to serve his country, his mother said.

Staff Sgt John T. Self, 29, of Pontotoc, Miss., was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, according to his mother, Jill Self.

The Defense Department confirmed the soldier’s death May 15. A brief statement May 14 by U.S. Central Command said Self was killed and three other airmen wounded by an improvised bomb at 3: 55 p.m. Monday in southern Baghdad.

Self was part of team that had been training Iraqi police but it is unclear if he was working with Iraqi police at the time of the blast.

Self was a member of the 314th Security Forces Squadron out of Little Rock Air Force Base, according base officials. He had been in Iraq since September.

“He had volunteered for this mission. He wanted to serve his country,” Jill Self told The Associated Press. “His commanding officer called this morning and said he was good airman and his unit from Arkansas called and said he had done his job.”

Self was a 1996 graduate of South Pontotoc High School, according to a school official, where he played trumpet in the marching band. He later attended Itawamba Community College and joined the Air Force in 1999.

“He loved to deer hunt and fish and play computer games. He was a loving child. He was there for his family and friends,” Jill Self said. “I loved him very much and he’s going to be missed.”

Self is the second Mississippian killed in Iraq in a matter of days.

Army Sgt Jason W. Vaughn, 29, of Iuka, died last Thursday. Vaughn was also killed by a roadside bomb. The makeshift bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices, have taken a heavy toll on American forces in Iraq.

Vaughn was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq with the Stryker Brigade based in Fort Lewis, Wash., when he was killed. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

The latest deaths bring to 55 the number of people from Mississippi or with strong ties to the state to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an unofficial Associated Press count.

Air Force Times staff contributed to this story

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 15, 2007 12:58: 06 EDT

Two soldiers on a foot patrol southeast of Baghdad were killed when they came under attack from gunfire, the military said.

A third soldier, from the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, was killed when his patrol in northern Baghdad was hit by a bomb, the military said. Four others were wounded in that attack, the military said.

In a third attack, an airman was killed and three others wounded when a bomb went off at 3: 55 p.m. in southern Baghdad, the military said.

A Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West also was killed while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, according to a separate statement.

Another soldier died of non-battle-related causes about 5 a.m. Monday, the military said, providing no other details.

The identities of the troops were not released pending notification of relatives.

The deaths raised to at least 3,399 the members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.