Oliver Galbreath, Luis Antonio

Sergeant Luis Antonio Oliver Galbreath was a 41-year-old soldier from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii. He deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On August 16, 2012, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the crash was the result of a hostile incident. Oliver Galbreath and six other American service members were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft.

Operation Enduring Freedom was the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001 following the September 11 attacks. The mission initially focused on dismantling al-Qaeda and removing the Taliban from power. By 2012, the conflict had evolved into a protracted counterinsurgency and nation-building effort, with U.S. and NATO forces engaged in intense combat, particularly in southern provinces like Kandahar.

The deaths of the seven soldiers were reported by major news outlets, including The New York Times and the Associated Press. The incident was one of the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan that year. The Department of Defense released the names of the fallen, and their remains were returned to the United States.

Sergeant Oliver Galbreath is listed on the Afghanistan War casualty rolls maintained by the Defense Department and is memorialized on online veterans' memorials. He was one of 2,356 American service members killed in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Oliver Galbreath was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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