Sergeant First Class Carmen Joseph DePaulo III, known as “CJ” to those who loved him, was born on September 10, 1984, in Jacksonville, Florida. He grew up in Lyme, Connecticut, and graduated from Old Lyme High School in June 2002.
CJ answered the call to serve in his mid-twenties, enlisting in the Army on August 2, 2011, as a culinary specialist. He completed Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lee, Virginia, and from December 2011 to April 2013 served with the 2nd Brigade Support Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In April 2013 he attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection and was chosen for the Special Forces Qualification Course. He trained as a Special Forces medical sergeant, one of the most demanding specialties in the Army, and earned his Green Beret in December 2014.
CJ was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served on Operational Detachment Bravo 3330 and Operational Detachment Alpha 3314 with Company A. He deployed to the Republic of Chad in 2017 and to Niger in 2018 in support of counterterrorism operations, caring for his teammates and partner forces in some of the most remote places American soldiers serve.
In 2019, after months of persistent symptoms, CJ was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer. He faced the disease with the same determination he brought to his military career, but on March 6, 2021, he died at the age of 36. He was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. His other decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Special Forces Tab, the Parachutist Badge and the Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge.
His Special Forces family gathered for his funeral at the All American Chapel at Fort Bragg, and he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Friends and advocates continue to share his story each March during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, urging service members and young adults to take persistent symptoms seriously. CJ is survived by his wife, Abigail, and their daughters, Kathrine and Alexandra.
SFC DePaulo deployed to Chad and Niger in support of Counter Terrorism Operations, serving with distinction as a Special Forces Medic (18D).
3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Sources
- LaFayette Funeral Home: Obituary of SFC Carmen Joseph DePaulo III
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Carmen DePaulo bio
