Shaffer, Dean Russell
Male
Verified Sgt. Dean Russell Shaffer, 23, of Pekin, Illinois, was a U.S. Army soldier assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. He died on April 19, 2012, in Divalak, Afghanistan.
Their Story
Sgt. Dean Russell Shaffer was a 23-year-old soldier from Pekin, Illinois. He served on active duty with the U.S. Army as a member of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, part of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade based at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii. His unit deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
On April 19, 2012, Shaffer was killed in action in Divalak, a village in the rugged Tagab District of Afghanistan's Kapisa Province. The area was a known insurgent stronghold northeast of Kabul. According to U.S. Department of Defense casualty reports, he died of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire during a combat operation.
Shaffer's death was part of a sustained period of violence in Kapisa Province during the spring of 2012. International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan National Army units conducted frequent operations there against insurgent networks. The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade provided critical air assault and medical evacuation support for these ground forces.
His death was recorded by the Defense Casualty Analysis System and reported by multiple news outlets. He was one of at least 1,908 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan in 2012, a year that saw intense fighting during the coalition's surge and transition period.
Shaffer was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant. He is memorialized on the Afghanistan War casualty rolls maintained by the Pentagon and by private veterans' organizations. Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan, formally concluded in December 2014.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan in which Sgt. Shaffer served, 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.
