Sergeant First Class Christopher J. Speer was born on September 9, 1973, in Denver, Colorado. A former teacher later recalled that even as a high school student, Chris carried himself with a military bearing: “You could look at him and visualize him being in the military.”
Chris enlisted in the Army on July 8, 1992. After basic combat training he graduated from the Medical Specialist Course and was assigned to the U.S. Army hospital at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. In November 1994 he volunteered and was selected for Special Forces training. He completed the demanding Special Forces Medical Sergeant Course in early 1997, gaining skills in trauma medicine, dentistry and surgery, and was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg in May of that year. After several years with the 3rd Group he was assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He wore the Combat Medical Badge, the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge, the Scuba and Air Assault Badges and the Special Forces Tab.
Before he deployed to Afghanistan in the spring of 2002, Chris wrote messages to his wife and children. On a card to his son and daughter he wrote, “It’s no secret how much I love you. Take care of each other. Love, Daddy.”
On July 21, 2002, during operations in eastern Afghanistan, Chris walked into a minefield to reach two wounded Afghan children. He applied a tourniquet to one child and flagged down a truck to carry both to a field hospital. For that act of courage he received the Soldier’s Medal. Six days later, on July 27, 2002, his patrol came under attack while assaulting a compound near Khost. Chris was one of five soldiers wounded in the battle. He was evacuated to Bagram and then to Germany, where he died of his wounds in early August 2002. He was 28.
His awards and decorations include the Soldier’s Medal, the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals. At his funeral, held only weeks after his act of mercy in the minefield, his selflessness toward the children of a foreign land was remembered as the measure of the man. He was buried in North Carolina.
Chris is survived by his wife Tabitha, their daughter Taryn and son Tanner, his mother Betty and his brother Todd. He is remembered by the Special Forces medical community as a healer and a warrior who was among the first Green Berets to give his life in the war in Afghanistan.
SFC Speer walked into a minefield to rescue two Afghan children before giving his life to save his team in combat.
USASOC Citation & Memorial Tribute
Sources
- Green Beret Foundation: Christopher J. Speer
- The New York Times: A Green Beret dies of wounds sustained in Afghanistan in July (Aug. 13, 2002)
- StarNews (Wilmington, NC): Slain soldier honored for service, bravery (Aug. 15, 2002)
- National Post: Who was Sgt. Christopher Speer? (July 7, 2017)
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Chris Speer bio
