Keith Matthew "Matt" Maupin (born July 13, 1983, died c.Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
2004) was a United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Private First Class (PFC) captured by Iraqi insurgentThe Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
s on April 9, 2004, while serving in the Iraq War, after his convoy came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and small armsSmall arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
fire near BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(known as 2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambushThe 2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush was an attack by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 during the Iraq War on a convoy of United States supply trucks near the Baghdad International Airport...
).
On June 28, 2004June 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:...
, Arabic-languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
television networkA television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, Al JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, aired a low-quality video purportedly depicting Maupin's execution. On June 30, 2004, an Army spokesman said the video was "totally inconclusive."
His body was found in late March 2008, but confirmation was not made until March 30, 2008, in Iraq.
Biography
Born on July 13, 1983 in Batavia, OhioBatavia is a village in and the county seat of Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,617 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Batavia is located at ....
, Maupin was a graduate of Glen Este High SchoolGlen Este High School is a public high school in Glen Este outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is one of two high schools in the West Clermont Local School District, the other being Amelia High School...
in Union TownshipUnion Township is one of the fourteen townships of Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 42,332 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Miami Township - north...
, Clermont County, OhioClermont County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, just east of Cincinnati. As of 2010, the population was 197,363. Its county seat is Batavia...
. After graduation, he enrolled at University of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
and pursued studies in Aerospace Engineering ProgramAerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
under a scholarship program (but later switched to nutritional science). In 2002, he enlisted in the United States Army ReserveThe United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
and was stationed with the 705th Transportation Company based in Dayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
.
Basic Training and Deployment
Maupin began basic trainingRecruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
at Fort Jackson, South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and continued on to Fort Leonard WoodFort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941...
, MissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
for training as a Motor Transport Operator (88M). By the time he had completed training in Spring 2003, the 705th Transportation Company had deployed to Iraq, and Maupin was assigned to the 643rd Area Support Group in Whitehall, OhioAs of the census of 2000, there were 19,201 people, 8,343 households, and 4,930 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,681.9 people per square mile . There were 8,997 housing units at an average density of 1,725.2 per square mile...
.
In November 2003, Maupin was transferred to a recently mobilized 724th Transportation Company based at Bartonville, IllinoisBartonville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,310 at the 2000 census. Bartonville is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. Maupin and the 724th Transportation Company arrived in KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
on February 20, 2004, and on March 5, proceeded to Logistics Support Area AnacondaJoint Base Balad, formerly Balad Air Base and Logistics Support Area Anaconda, or simply LSA Anaconda - formerly known as Al-Bakr Air Base and known in popular media as Camp Anaconda - is one of the largest United States military bases in Iraq...
, Iraq, with the 7th Transportation BattalionThe 7th Transportation Battalion is a transportation battalion in the United States Army first constituted in 1943. The 7th Transportation Battalion participated in World War II, Vietnam and Desert Storm/Desert Shield.-Lineage:...
, 172nd Corps Support Group, 13th Corps Support CommandThe 13th Sustainment Command —the Lucky 13th—is a U.S. Army modular sustainment command which serves as a forward presence for expeditionary operations for a theater, or in support of a regional Combatant Commander...
, to begin missions delivering fuel to various coalition installations.
Insurgent ambush and Capture
On April 9, 2004, Maupin's fuel convoy came under attack near the Baghdad International AirportBaghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
. In what was described as a 5 miles (8 km)-long ambush, the 26-vehicle serial was pummeled by gunfire, mortar rounds and RPGs, disabling many of the civilian fuel tankers and Army vehicles.
After the remnants of the convoy reached safe ground it was learned that around ten soldiers and civilian KBR, Inc contractors were wounded, while one soldier, Specialist Gregory Goodrich, and a civilian driver had been killed in the battle. PFC Maupin was among the nine people unaccounted for – seven civilians and two soldiers. One of the missing civilian drivers, Thomas Hamill, had been taken hostage during the ambush and escaped his captors on May 2, 2004May 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:...
. The bodies of five other civilians and the second soldier were subsequently recovered; all are thought to have been killed in the ambush. Civilian driver Timothy Bell remains missing and is presumed dead.
On April 16, 20042004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December-Events:2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December-Events:...
, Maupin appeared on a videotape that was broadcast by the Arabic-language television network, Al Jazeera. The tape, reportedly delivered to the U.S. Embassy in DohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, QatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, raised hopes that Maupin was still alive. In the video, the soldier identified himself as "Private First Class Keith Matthew Maupin", a standard procedure followed by prisoners of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
that protects their rights under the Third Geneva ConventionThe Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
.
On June 28, 2004, Al Jazeera reported that Maupin was killed by a group identifying itself as The Persistent Power Against the Enemies of God and the Prophet. The method of killing in the video was a gunshot to the head. The U.S. Army deemed the tape inconclusive, because it is unclear whether the man was Maupin.
Operation Trojan Honor - Search for Matt Maupin
On March 30, 2008, Maupin's father told local newsmedia that the remains of his son had been found. He states that an Army general had told him that DNA was used to identify the remains.
According to an Army statement, Maupin's remains "were recovered northwest of Baghdad on March 20, by soldiers from 1st Battalion, 21st InfantryThe 21st Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-Lineage:*Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry*Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York...
, based out of Schofield Barracks, HawaiiSchofield Barracks is a United States Army post and census-designated place located in the City and County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, United States. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated from most of it by Lake Wilson...
, attached to 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment." The unit called the recovery effort "Operation Trojan Honor", after the mascot of Maupin's high school, Glen Este. A tip from an Iraqi citizen led to the recovery of Maupin's remains. Two Iraqis who were reportedly involved in Maupin's capture and death have been tried for other crimes and sentenced to death by Iraqi courts. The Iraqi Court of Cassation sent the cases back to the trial court for administrative errors. The re-trial for the two Iraqis is expected to take place in 2010.
Promotions
Maupin was promoted three times after being declared
missing in actionMissing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
, resulting in the rank of
Staff Sergeant (SSG)Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
.
Memorials
A memorial was held in Cincinnati, OH on April 27, 2008, in
Great American Ball ParkThe Great American Ball Park is a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home of the National League's Cincinnati Reds. It opened in 2003, replacing the Reds' former home, Cinergy Field, which was known as Riverfront Stadium from its opening in June 1970 until the 1996...
. Maupin was laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH on April 27, 2008, while surrounded by a group of close family and friends.
Matt Maupin Welcome Pavilion
The Clermont County community, friends of Maupin's family, and Clermont High School Crew raised funds and received donations to build a memorial pavilion (Matt Maupin Welcome Pavilion) in his honor at the finish line of the rowing race course on Harsha Lake Beach, East Fork State ParkEast Fork State Park is a state park located in Clermont County, Ohio, United States, about 25 miles east of Cincinnati. It has camping, hiking, swimming and boating opportunities. The state park is home to many junior and collegiate rowing races, including the USRowing Youth National...
, Bethel, OhioBethel is a village in Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,637 at the 2000 census.Bethel was founded in 1798 by Obed Denham, in what was then the Northwest Territory....
. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 7, 2006 and was completed on March 15, 2008.
See also
- Army SSG Ahmed Kousay Altaie - The only American serviceman still missing in Iraq.
- Army PFC Kristian Menchaca
Kristian Menchaca , Brownsville, Texas, was a United States Army Private First Class who was tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was married to Christina Menchaca of Big Spring in September 2005, before he was deployed to Iraq.-Military life:Menchaca was one of two U.S...
- Captured by terrorists and was executed.
- Army PFC Thomas Lowell Tucker
Thomas Lowell Tucker from Madras, Oregon, was a Private First Class of the U.S. Army tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was one of two U.S. soldiers seized by the Mujahideen Shura Council during an attack that left a third soldier Spc. David J...
- Captured by terrorists and was executed.
- Marine CPL Wassef Ali Hassoun
Wassef Ali Hassoun was a United States Marine Corps corporal who was charged with desertion for leaving his unit and apparently engaging with others in a hoax to make it appear that he had been captured by terrorists on June 19, 2004 while serving in Iraq...
- He alleged that he was captured by terrorists but after an investigation it was determined to be a hoax.
External links
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