Simmons, Shawn Elliot

Master Sergeant Shawn Elliot Simmons died during a combat operation in Kandahar province, a major center of insurgent activity in southern Afghanistan. He was serving with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), a unit specializing in unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense.

Simmons was 39 years old and a native of Ashland, Massachusetts. He had enlisted in the Army and pursued a career in Special Forces, a path requiring extensive training and repeated deployments. At the time of his death, he was a senior non-commissioned officer in his unit.

His death occurred in the seventh year of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By mid-2008, violence in the country was intensifying, particularly in the southern regions where international forces engaged in frequent combat.

The Department of Defense announced his death on July 1, 2008, stating he died of wounds sustained from enemy fire. No further operational details about the incident were released by the military. His unit, the 7th Special Forces Group, was based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Simmons's death was recorded among the more than 1,800 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan by that point in the conflict. The war would continue for another six years after his death, under the banner of Operation Enduring Freedom until its conclusion in December 2014.

Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan, concluded in December 2014 after 13 years. 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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