Smith, James Lee
Male
Verified Petty Officer First Class James Lee Smith, 38, of Spring, Texas, was a U.S. Navy Seabee assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28. He died on December 11, 2013, from wounds sustained in Afghanistan.
Their Story
Petty Officer First Class James Lee Smith was a member of the U.S. Navy's Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 28, a unit specializing in construction and engineering projects in combat zones. His service with the Seabees included deployments across the globe, including to Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
In late 2013, Smith was deployed to Afghanistan. The conflict was in its twelfth year, following a U.S. troop surge and subsequent drawdown. Insurgent forces, including the Taliban, remained active as responsibility for security was gradually transferred to Afghan National Security Forces.
Smith was wounded in action in Afghanistan. He was subsequently evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, a major U.S. military treatment facility for casualties from the Middle East and Southwest Asia. He died there on December 11, 2013.
His death brought the total number of American service members killed in Operation Enduring Freedom to at least 2,356, according to U.S. Department of Defense casualty records. Smith was one of the final casualties of the long-running campaign, which formally concluded in December 2014.
Explore Further
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.
