[Dan]

RELEASE NUMBER: 050803-01
DATE POSTED: AUGUST 3, 2005

USASOC honors fallen Special Forces Soldier
Sgt. Joe Healy
U.S. Army Special Operations Command

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Aug. 3, 2005) — The U.S. Army Special Operations Command honored a fallen Special Forces Soldier during a memorial service at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel Aug. 3.

Approximately 150 family, friends and comrades-in-arms here paid their respects to Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton, a communications sergeant, assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Palmerton, 25, died near Kandahar, Afghanistan, July 23, from wounds sustained during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

“Jason was a dedicated, professional Soldier,” said Sgt. David Pickford, a fellow SF Soldier assigned to 1st Bat., 3rd SFG. “His courage and selfless service were his greatest attributes.”

Pickford recalled during his remarks Palmerton’s strength-of-spirit when their 12-man team battled a snowstorm while hiking over a glacier at an altitude surpassing 14,000 ft.

“Jason never quit under any circumstances,” Pickford recalled.

A native of Hamburg, Iowa, Palmerton enlisted in the Army July 31, 2002, as an infantryman with the goal of becoming a Green Beret. After completing the required Special Forces Qualification Course, he was assigned to 3rd SFG. Palmerton deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom last June.

Pickford noted Palmeton’s Army and Special Forces journey began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. An avid patriot, Palmerton wanted to fight the Global War on Terrorism with the Army’s finest Soldiers.

The world’s finest military organization wanted to fight along side him, too.

“He was the epitome of the ‘Quiet Professional,’” said Lt. Col. Donald Bolduc, battalion commander, 1st Bat., 3rd SFG. “We need to remember Palmerton’s life by rededicating ourselves in this global fight against terrorism.”

Palmerton’s military awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Basic Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with V device, the Purple Heart, a Meritorious Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge

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