SSG Christopher N. Piper

16 June 2005, Afghanistan

Special Forces

A native of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Staff Sergeant Christopher N. Piper died 16 June 2005 from wounds sustained 3 June 2005 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Ground Mobility Vehicle near Orgun-e, Afghanistan.

Piper enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1980 and served in Beirut, Lebanon, leaving active duty in 1983. He reenlisted in the Army in 1995, graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course, and served with the 20th Special Forces Group, Birmingham, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

SSG Piper was assigned in 2004 as a Communications Sergeant in 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the time of his death his unit was supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.