Rodriguez, Matthew Rolando
Male
Verified Lance Cpl. Matthew Rolando Rodriguez, 19, of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, was a U.S. Marine serving with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion. He died on December 11, 2013, in Now Zad, Afghanistan, from hostile action.
Their Story
Matthew Rolando Rodriguez was a 19-year-old Marine lance corporal from Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He served with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), 1st Marine Division, based out of Camp Pendleton, California. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Rodriguez died on December 11, 2013, in the Now Zad district of Afghanistan's Helmand province. The Department of Defense announced his death the following day. He was reportedly killed by small arms fire while on patrol, according to initial military reports.
Now Zad was a long-contested area in northern Helmand, a center of insurgent activity and a focus of U.S. Marine operations for years. By late 2013, U.S. forces were engaged in a drawdown and transition process, but combat patrols and engagements with Taliban fighters continued in districts like Now Zad.
Rodriguez's death was one of the final American fatalities in Helmand province before the formal conclusion of the International Security Assistance Force's combat mission at the end of 2014. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of lance corporal.
His death was noted in local Massachusetts media, which reported on his background and the community's response. The war in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001, resulted in the deaths of over 2,400 U.S. service members by its official conclusion in December 2014.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, concluded in December 2014 after 13 years of conflict. 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.
