Update [2005-2-23 20:39:52 by SusanHu]: See end of diary.
I'll share with you the very little I could find. A career Navy physician -- apparently an anesthesiologist -- died at Guantanamo last April. A memorial service was held for him on April 16, 2004 at the base chapel on Guantanamo. The Naval Criminal Investigative Unit is still investigating his death, which has been categorized as "connected to the war on terror." Only this Tuesday did the Navy announce his death:
Pentagon announces death of Navy doctor at Guantanamo Bay
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
Knight Ridder Newspapers
MIAMI - (KRT) - Ten months after the fact, the Pentagon Tuesday disclosed the death of a Navy doctor at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
Pentagon spokesmen would not explain the circumstances surrounding the death of Navy Cmdr. Adrian Basil Szwec, 43, of Chicago, a 19-year career naval medical officer who died at the base on April 12. ...
An announcement described Szwec's death only as "a noncombat related incident."
: more below :
Szwec's death was still under investigation Tuesday by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a Navy spokeswoman said at the Pentagon, declining to be identified.
It took the Navy 10 months to make the announcement because the Armed Forces Medical Examiner only recently categorized his death as connected to the war on terror, the spokeswoman said, declining to reveal further details.
Szwec had been assigned to the Navy Hospital at Guantanamo since September 2002. He had previously served at the Navy Medical Center in San Diego, Calif. [SEE BELOW.]
The Pentagon announcement said he died ``supporting Operation Enduring Freedom'' - the Pentagon's name for the Afghanistan theater in the war on terror.
Knight-Ridder
The Knight-Ridder article is the sole news story that I could find on the announcement of his death.
A Geocities Web page lists Adrian Szwec as a member of the Dept. of Anesthesiology at the Navy Medical Center in San Diego. There's a large group photo on that page, but no caption to identify him in the photo.
A Navy page shows that he was promoted in 2001:
PERMANENT PROMOTION TO COMMANDER
STAFF CORPS
APPOINTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF REF A
SENATE CONFIRMED 27 JULY 2001
DOR/EFF DATE 1 DECEMBER 2001
MEDICAL CORPS 21XX
-- other names snipped --
SZWEC ADRIAN BASIL 6276/2100
On the site for the Guantanamo Gazette, there is an announcement for a memorial service:
Memorial Service for
CDR Adrian Szwec, MC, USN
Base Chapel
Friday, April 16 at 2pm
All personnel welcome to attend.
Adrian B. Szwec
January 14, 1961 - April 12, 2004
The Knight-Ridder article points out that the "Navy commander is the first naval officer and at least the fourth service member to die while working at the base." Others who've died at Guantanamo:
_Army Master Sgt. Herbert Claunch, 58, of Wetumpka, Ala., died April 18 - six days after Szwec - after he collapsed on the floor in his quarters near the terror prison. He was assigned to an Alabama National Guard military police unit.
_Army Sgt. Theodore L. Perreault, 33, of Webster, Mass., shot himself and died on Dec. 23, 2003. He was assigned to a Massachusetts National Guard infantry unit that guarded the prison.
_Army Sgt. Ryan Foraker, 31, of Logan, Ohio, died Sept. 24, 2002. Military investigators found his clothing, but not his remains, near a base beach. His death was ruled an accident.
Update [2005-2-23 20:39:52 by SusanHu]: Many here are curious about the lack of information or feel that information about deaths at Guantanamo may be shrouded in secrecy simply because it's Guantanamo. However: The other three deaths are amply covered in Web searches, including obituaries. See below. Only Szwec is practically a blank slate with no obituaries, etc.
- Army Master Sgt. Herbert Claunch
- Army Sgt. Theodore L. Perreault
- Army Sgt. Ryan Foraker
I've provided you with every reference to his life that I could find.
What happened to this young doctor?