Rast, Benjamin David
Male
Verified Hospitalman Benjamin David Rast, 23, of Niles, Michigan, was a U.S. Navy sailor killed in a hostile incident in Shaykh-Mujhamihalyan, Afghanistan, on April 6, 2011.
Their Story
Benjamin David Rast was born on March 10, 1988, and grew up in Niles, Michigan. He enlisted in the United States Navy and served as a Hospitalman, a medical specialist, assigned to the San Diego-based Expeditionary Medical Facility Detachment.
On April 6, 2011, Hospitalman Rast was killed in the village of Shaykh-Mujhamihalyan, located in the volatile Zhari District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, he died of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while conducting a dismounted patrol. He was 23 years old.
Rast's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By 2011, the conflict was in its tenth year, marked by a surge of U.S. forces and intense counterinsurgency operations in Taliban strongholds like Kandahar.
The Navy posthumously advanced Rast to the rank of Hospitalman. He was survived by his parents and siblings. His body was returned to Michigan, and he was buried with military honors at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.
Hospitalman Rast is memorialized on the Navy Memorial and on local monuments in Michigan. His name is inscribed on Panel 32W, Line 76 of the Afghanistan War Memorial at the National Museum of the United States Army.
Explore Further
Hospitalman Benjamin Rast 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.
