Speer, Christopher James

Sgt. 1st Class Christopher James Speer was a Special Forces medic assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In July 2002, he was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign that began in October 2001 following the September 11 attacks.

On July 27, 2002, Speer was part of a U.S. and Afghan military team conducting a mission in the vicinity of Ab Khail, southeast of Khost, Afghanistan. According to U.S. military reports, the team came under attack. During the engagement, an enemy grenade was thrown into the position where Speer and others were located.

Speer sustained severe head injuries from the grenade blast. He was evacuated from Afghanistan for emergency medical treatment. He was transferred to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, a major U.S. military hospital near Homburg.

Despite treatment, Speer died from his wounds on August 6, 2002, at the age of 28. His death was one of the early combat fatalities of Operation Enduring Freedom, which saw continued fighting after the initial overthrow of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Speer was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal with Valor device. His case later became central to the U.S. military commission proceedings against detainee Omar Khadr, who was captured as a juvenile after the firefight and pleaded guilty in 2010 to charges including murder in violation of the law of war for Speer's death.

Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. military response 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.

← Return to the full memorial | Add a memorial record