Jason D. Cunningham

Died: March 4, 2002

Rank: Senior Airman

Unit: 28th Rescue Squadron

Branch: U.S. Air Force

Senior Airman Jason Dean Cunningham was killed in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002, in a rescue mission in support of Operation Anaconda, during Operation Enduring Freedom. Cunningham died from injuries sustained from enemy fire while he was selflessly treating wounded comrades on a mountain ridgeline in enemy territory on the deadliest day of combat for an American unit since 1993. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The ceremony included full military honors, a flyover by a pair of HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and a 21-gun salute. A final heartbreaking salute was made by the Senior Airman’s four-year-old daughter, Kayla, as her father was laid to rest in an American flag-draped casket.