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MAJ Mark E Cooper
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Cantrell, Edward D. (Duane), CW2.
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Contact Info
Home Town Dyersburg
Last Address Hope Mills, NC
Date of Passing Mar 06, 2012
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
HOPE MILLS, N.C. - A Green Beret recently home from Afghanistan died trying to rescue his two young daughters from their burning home near Fort Bragg in North Carolina early Tuesday. The girls were also killed in the blaze.
Edward Cantrell and his wife escaped from the 2 a.m. blaze by jumping from the home's second floor, the Cumberland County sheriff's office said. Cantrell then wrapped himself in a blanket and re-entered the burning home in Hope Mills, about 10 miles from the Army base that is home to the Green Berets and other Special Forces units, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said.
Cantrell, 36, was trying to reach 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia, who were trapped in second-floor bedrooms, Tanna said.
"He never made it back out," Tanna said. Firefighters found their bodies inside the home, Tanna said.
Louise Cantrell was being treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation. The family dog, a Rottweiler named Sasha, also survived the fire and was being kept by neighbors.
The century-old home's timbers were likely very dry, causing a fast-moving blaze, Tanna said. The cause of the fire was under investigation, but authorities don't suspect foul play, reported NBC17.com.
Cantrell was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of chief warrant officer 2, said Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command. It was not clear when he served in Afghanistan.
"It's just terrible. We sit here and say our Special Forces can take care of America and this man is trying to go up there and take care of his family and he can't," Cindy Jacobs, who works next door at Alzheimer's Related Care, said, according to NBC17.com.
Louise Cantrell, 37, is being treated for smoke inhalation at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, reported FayObserver.com.
The house was a three-bedroom home built in 1920, according to the newspaper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Other Comments:
RELEASE NUMBER: 120306-07
DATE POSTED: MARCH 6, 2012
PRESS RELEASE: SF Soldier dies trying to rescue daughters
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, March 6, 2012) – A Special Forces Soldier from 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was killed in a house fire at his home in Hope Mills, N.C., March 6.
Chief Warrant Officer Two Edward Cantrell, 36, died while trying to rescue his two daughters - ages six and four- after their home caught fire during the night. Cantrell's wife survived the fire.
Cantrell, a Green Beret, was the Assistant Detachment Commander for an Operational Detachment-Alpha in 3rd Battalion. ODAs, also known as "A-Teams," are the cornerstone of Special Forces.
Cantrell was born in Dyersburg, Tenn., and joined the Army in 1994 as a military policeman. He served in 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Korea, and then the 503rd Military Police Battalion, at Fort Bragg, N.C. where he deployed in support of Operation Joint Endeavor to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He later served with the Southern European Task Force in Vicenza, Italy.
In 2004, Cantrell graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), serving as a Communications and Intelligence Sergeant on four combat deployments.
Cantrell attended the Warrant Officer Candidate Course followed by the Special Forces Warrant Officer Basic Course in 2009 and was then assigned to another ODA as the assistant detachment commander.
Cantrell completed six total combat deployments: one to Iraq and five to Afghanistan. He returned home from his most recent combat tour supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in August 2011.
Cantrell’s awards and decorations include four Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor device, four Army Commendation Medals, 11 Army Achievement Medals, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with four stars, Iraq Campaign Medal with one star, Kosovo Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, six Overseas Service Ribbons, Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachutist's Badge and the Air Assault Badge. He was also the recipient of the Bruce E. Price Leadership Award.
Cantrell is survived by his wife, son, and parents.
--usasoc--
Operation Joint Endeavor (IFOR)
From Month/Year
December / 1995
To Month/Year
December / 1996
Description Beginning in December 1995, US and allied nations deployed peacekeeping forces to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. Task Force Eagle, comprised of 20,000 American soldiers, was the US component of NATO's Implementation Force (IFOR) and was tasked with implementing the military elements of the Dayton Peace Accords in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. Task Force Eagle was the lead element for NATO's Multinational Division (North) or MND(N). Operation Joint Endeavor marked the first commitment of forces in NATO's history, as well as the first time since World War II that American and Russian soldiers had shared a common mission. Thousands of people were alive in Bosnia because of these soldiers' service. On 20 December 1996, the IFOR mandate ended and NATO established a new operation, Operation Joint Guard, along with a new Stabilisation Force (SFOR) to replace IFOR. Task Force Eagle remained the title for the US contingent supporting this new operation.
Multinational Division (North) and Task Force Eagle's history began in 1995 following the NATO-imposed cease-fire, halting the destructive 4-year Balkan conflict. After the General Framework Agreement for Peace was signed on 14 December 1995, the United States 1st Armored Division, as part of NATO's Allied Command Europe, Rapid Reaction Corps, was ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Endeavor. There it formed the nucleus of Task Force Eagle and assumed control of its area of responsibility on 20 December 1995. After the historic bridging of the Sava river on 31 December 1995, the Old Ironsides Division, with supporting Forces from the V Corps, was joined by Nordic-Polish, Turkish, and Russian Brigades, with contingents from 12 nations. These nations included Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Russia, Turkey, and the United States.
Task Force Eagle, one of the most powerful formations ever fielded, enforced the cease fire, supervised the marking of boundaries and the zone of separation between the former warring factions, enforced the withdrawal of the combatants to their barracks and the movement of heavy weapons to designated storage sites. Task Force Eagle also supported the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's efforts to administer the country's first ever, democratic national elections.
In the first 3 months of Operation Joint Endeavor, US Air Force mobility forces flew 3,000 missions, carried over 15,600 troops and delivered more than 30,100 short tons of cargo. These statistics reflected the presence of the C-17, which was systematically employed in a major contingency for the first time during the operation. The limited airfield at Tuzla, was the major port of debarkation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the first critical month of operations, the C-17 flew slightly more than 20 percent of the missions into, Tuzla but delivered over 50 percent of the cargo.
On 10 November 1996, the 1st Armored Division transferred authority for command and control of MND(N) and Task Force Eagle to the 1st Infantry Division. The 1st Infantry Division deployed as a covering force to allow the safe return of the 1st Armored Division units to their homes in Germany. Shortly thereafter, demonstrations in the villages of Celic and Gajevi tested the resolve and ability of the newly arrived Big Red One. On 12 November 1996, an armed altercation between the former warring factions occurred, which could have hindered the fragile peace process. The soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division skillfully intervened and quickly brought the very intense situation under control. Upon completion of the covering force mission, the 1st Infantry Division continued to ensure all military aspects of the Dayton Peace Accord were accomplished firmly and fairly.
During Operation Joint Endeavor, deployed intelligence personnel provided aircrews and staffs at several locations with critical threat information and airfield data. Taking advantage of the Combat Intelligence System (CIS) capabilities and an emerging global connectivity to military networks and databases, intelligence personnel provided the best and most timely support ever to air mobility forces. This improvement was particularly evident during the Mission Report (MISREP) process, when intelligence analysts used CIS to provide MISREP data very quickly to aircrews and staffs, ensuring the people in need of this intelligence received it while the data was still useful.
The European Command's ARG/MEU(SOC) was assigned as theater reserve for NATO forces, while Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 133 and 40 constructed base camps for implementation force personnel. In addition, from June to October 1996 a Marine Corps unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron, VMU-1, supported the operation with Pioneer UAV imagery both to US and multinational units. VMU-1 was subsequently replaced by VMU-2, which continued to provide similar support.
The US Army Intelligence and Security Command's (INSCOM) Military Intelligence Battalion (Low Intensity) was originally notified of participation in Operation Joint Endeavor in the fall of 1995. The Airborne Reconnaissance - Low (ARL) system, however, was actually deployed for use in the US European Command theater from 28 January 1996 through 19 April 1996, with approximately 60 personnel, including 12 contracted civilian aircraft maintenance personnel from Rayethon, AVTAIL, and California Microwave Industries. During that time, the unit conducted 39 missions totaling 224.1 flight hours of imagery over Bosnia. After considerable coordination, US Southern Command finally released the ARL for a second deployment, this time from 8 August 1996 through 3 October 1996. On the second deployment, the unit conducted 33 missions totaling 197.1 flight hours of imagery over Bosnia. During the second deployment, there were 4 3-man Aerial Reconnaissance Support Teams deployed, one each in the the British (southwest) sector; the US (northern) sector in Tuzla; the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) in Sarajevo; and the French sector in Mostar. The Battalion also flew over 700 flight hours in support of the imagery efforts using RC-12 aircraft from C Company. In addition to the manned aircraft, the Battalion also deployed with the RQ-1 Predator UAV for the period 7 March 1996 through 2 September 1996. To operate the UAV, the unit formed a company as a detachment, called Detachment 3. It was a joint unit with personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marine Corps. Responsibility for the system transferred to the US Air Force's 11th Reconnaissance Squadron on 2 September 1996.
