Americans across the country will be attending parades and firing up their barbecue grills for the long Memorial Day weekend, but 21 U.S. service members won’t be around to mark the holiday.
Over the past year, those service members have been killed in combat operations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other far-flung areas against the Islamic State and other terrorist forces. While the day is an important reminder of the sacrifices of those long ago, it’s also a time to reflect on the sacrifices being made even.
Aug. 23, 2016
Name: Matthew V. Thompson
Age: 28
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group
Hometown: Irvine, Calif.
Thompson was on a foot patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand province as part of an effort to train and assist local forces when he was killed by an improvised explosive device. Then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter said his death “reminds us that Afghanistan remains a dangerous place and there is difficult work ahead.”
Oct. 4, 2016
Name: Adam S. Thomas
Age: 31
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Takoma Park, Md.
Thomas was deployed as part of the post-war U.S. counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and was killed by an improvised explosive device during a foot patrol.
Oct. 19, 2016
Name: Douglas J. Riney
Age: 26
Rank and unit: Army sergeant, Support Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
Hometown: Fairview, Ill.
Riney died in Kabul, Afghanistan, after being fatally wounded in fighting related to U.S. counterterrorism operations.
Oct. 20, 2016
Name: Jason C. Finan
Age: 34
Rank and unit: Navy chief petty officer, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3
Hometown: Anaheim, Calif.
Finan was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Iraq as part of the mission to defeat the Islamic State group.
Nov. 3, 2016
Name: Andrew D. Byers
Age: 30
Rank and unit: Army captain, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Rolesville, N.C.
Byers was killed in Kunduz, Afghanistan, while fighting the Taliban alongside Afghan special forces.
Name: Ryan A. Gloyer
Age: 34
Rank and unit: Army sergeant 1st class, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Greenville, Pa.
Gloyer was killed alongside Byers during the Afghan “advise, train and assist” mission. Carter said the two soldiers died “doing their part to help the Afghans secure their own country while protecting our homeland from those who would do us harm.”
Nov. 4, 2016
Name: Matthew C. Lewellen
Age: 27
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, 5th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Lawrence, Kan.
Lewellen and two other Green Berets were on a mission to train moderate Syrian fighters in Jordan when they were killed by a guard at the gate of King Faisal Air Base.
Name: Kevin J. McEnroe
Age: 30
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, 5th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
McEnroe was killed instantly when the Jordanian guard opened fire on the Green Berets’ unarmed vehicles.
Name: James F. Moriarty
Age: 27
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, 5th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Kerrville, Texas
Moriarty and his fellow soldiers returned fire and he was mortally wounded in the incident at King Faisal Air Base. The elite soldiers were part of the mission to train allied forces and defeat the Islamic State group in Syria.
Nov. 12, 2016
Name: John W. Perry
Age: 30
Rank and unit: Army sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Hometown: Stockton, Calif.
Perry and a fellow soldier were killed in Bagram, Afghanistan, by an improvised explosive device. “An apparent suicide bomber has taken the lives of two U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors working on the base,” Carter said at the time.
Name: Tyler R. Iubelt
Age: 20
Rank and unit: Army private first class, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Hometown: Tamaroa, Ill.
Iubelt, a young enlisted soldier, died in the bombing at Bagram Airfield, which also killed two contractors and wounded 16 other U.S. service members.
Nov. 24, 2016
Name: Scott C. Dayton
Age: 42
Rank and unit: Navy senior chief petty officer, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 2
Hometown: Woodbridge, Va.
Dayton became the first U.S. military casualty in the war against the Islamic State in Syria when he was killed by an improvised explosive device on Thanksgiving day.
Dec. 6, 2016
Name: Allan E. Brown
Age: 46
Rank and unit: Army sergeant first class, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Hometown: Takoma Park, Md.
Brown became the last military casualty of the Nov. 12 suicide bombing at Bagram Airfield in November. He died of his injuries at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
Jan. 29
Name: William “Ryan” Owens
Age: 36
Rank and unit: Navy senior chief special warfare operator, East Coast based special warfare unit
Hometown: Peoria, Ill.
Owens, a Navy SEAL, was part of a special operations mission against al-Qaeda in Yemen, the first such mission waged by the Trump administration. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Ryan “gave his full measure for our nation.”
April 8
Name: Mark R. De Alencar
Age: 37
Rank and unit: Army staff sergeant, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group
Hometown: Edgewood, Md.
De Alencar was killed during fighting in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, where U.S. special operators and Afghan forces are battling an affiliate of the Islamic State group.
April 27
Name: Joshua P. Rodgers
Age: 22
Rank and unit: Army sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Hometown: Bloomington, Ill.
Rodgers and another Ranger were killed during an intense nighttime battle with the Islamic State’s affiliate in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
Name: Cameron H. Thomas
Age: 23
Rank and unit: Army sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Hometown: Kettering, Ohio
Thomas was also killed in the nighttime battle aimed at killing a top Islamic State leader in Afghanistan. Mattis said “Josh and Cameron proved themselves willing to go into danger and impose a brutal cost on enemies in their path.”
April 29
Name: Weston C. Lee
Age: 25
Rank and unit: Army first lieutenant, 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
Hometown: Bluffton, Ga.
Lee, an Army infantry officer, was killed by an improvised explosive device during a patrol in Mosul, Iraq, as part of the U.S. mission to defeat the Islamic State.
May 5
Name: Kyle Milliken
Age: 38
Rank and unit: Navy senior chief petty officer, East Coast-based special warfare unit
Hometown: Falmouth, Maine
Milliken, a Navy SEAL, was killed by al-Shabab fighters while on a counterterrorism mission in a remote area outside of Mogadishu, Somalia. He was the first U.S. service member to die in Somalia since 1993.
