Simpson, Mark Allen

Sergeant Mark Allen Simpson was a 40-year-old soldier from Peoria, Illinois, serving with the U.S. Army's 584th Mobility Augmentation Company. His unit, part of the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas, was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign that began in October 2001.

Engineer units like Simpson's were frequently tasked with route clearance, a dangerous mission to find and disarm improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted along roads. This work was critical for the safety of coalition and Afghan forces, as well as civilians, in regions like Kandahar province, a major area of insurgent activity.

On September 26, 2010, Sergeant Simpson died in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Department of Defense announced that his death was the result of a hostile incident. Specific details of the engagement were not always disclosed in official releases, but casualties in Kandahar that year were often linked to IED strikes or direct fire during clearance patrols.

His death was recorded among the more than 1,400 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan in 2010, the deadliest year of the war for coalition forces. Operation Enduring Freedom, the phase of the conflict in which he served, concluded in December 2014.

Sergeant Simpson's service included deployments beyond Afghanistan, reportedly to the Philippines and the Horn of Africa, reflecting the global scope of U.S. military operations following the September 11 attacks. He is memorialized on casualty lists and by veterans' organizations from his home state of Illinois.

Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan, 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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