A Chicago high school principal fondly remembered Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., whose family said he was one of three Americans killed in an early Sunday raid on a base in Kenya.
The 23-year-old soldier graduated from Hillcrest High School in 2014. His principal, Dr. Renee Simms, talked about her former pupil in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Henry came to our school from Bogan High School during his junior year,” Simms said. “He graduated in 2014 and we are very proud to have been able to be a part of his life, even if it was only for a short amount of time.”
The young soldier made his mark on the school, Simms said. “Henry will be missed by many of our alumni, staff, and community members. We are beyond grateful for Henry’s service to our country, and we admire him for his bravery.
“We will look back fondly on the memories and moments we were fortunate enough to share with him at Hillcrest High School. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Carmoneta Horton-Mayfield posted a Christmas Eve message to her son and his unit in December. “Wishing my son a very Merry Christmas during his deployment!!! Praying for you and your squad,” she wrote. Days later, she posted the heartbreaking news that Henry Mayfield Jr., was killed during an al Shabab raid on Manda Bay Airfield, a joint U.S.-Kenyan base on the country’s eastern coastline.
“Thank you to all that have reached out to my husband and I with your touching words regarding the loss of our son Army Specialist Henry Mayfield Jr.,” Horton-Mayfield wrote in a Facebook post. “We may not be able to respond to them all at this [time], but we feel the love and we appreciate you all. Please keep our family in prayer.”
Horton-Mayfield and her husband, Henry Mayfield, did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment. Hundreds of Facebook users replied to the post, offering their condolences to the family.
“I may not know you, but I live in Fort Rucker Alabama. The news of your son is being seen by everyone and I and my husband who is a veteran of Fort Rucker wanted to send our condolences to you and your family. You are in our thoughts and prayers,” Victoria Boyd wrote.
“I wish to thank your son for his service and I am so sorry for your family’s loss. I lost a loved one in Kuwait during Desert Storm. Goodbyes are never easy. My heart is truly breaking for you,” Brenda Kaye Coe, whose son is in the Air Force, wrote.
“My sincerest condolences. My heart goes out to you and your family,” Ray Araujo, who identified himself as a U.S. Marine, wrote. “Your son was a brave man and he will be missed. Semper Fidelis.
The Pentagon officially has not confirmed Mayfield’s death.
“As standard practice, OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) identifies fallen service members and details of their specific unit. Release occurs approximately 24 hours after Next of Kin notifications are complete,” U.S. Africa Command spokesman Maj. Karl Wiest told the Washington Examiner.
Loved ones confirm @USArmy Specialist Henry Mayfield Jr. was 1 of 3 Americans killed during a pre-dawn terror attack on a U.S. airfield base in Kenya.
He was just 23-years-old.
Mayfield Jr. is from Chicago suburb Hazel Crest.@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/l9ikuBhn4h
— Eric Cox (@EricCoxTV) January 6, 2020
Mayfield joined the Army in June 2018 after studying at Northern Illinois University during the Fall 2014 semester. The university told the Washington Examiner it did not have any comment at this time.
In addition to Mayfield, two Department of Defense contractors were killed and two Department of Defense members were injured in the attack AFRICOM said in a statement on Sunday. The wounded were in stable condition following the attack and were evacuated.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of AFRICOM, said in a statement. “As we honor their sacrifice, let’s also harden our resolve. Alongside our African and international partners, we will pursue those responsible for this attack and al-Shabaab who seeks to harm Americans and U.S. interests. We remain committed to preventing al-Shabaab from maintaining a safe haven to plan deadly attacks against the U.S. homeland, East African and international partners.”
Mayfield is the second U.S. service member killed by al Shabab in the past year. Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26, a Green Beret assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, was killed in an al Shabab attack on June 8, 2019, while supporting a joint mission with Somalian and Kenyan forces. The task force was in the midst of clearing al Shabab “from contested areas.” AFRICOM said.
