Staff Sergeant James Francis “Jimmy” Moriarty was born on January 27, 1989, and was raised in Houston, Texas, the son of Jim Moriarty, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, and Cindy Moriarty. He attended Annunciation Orthodox School and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, then graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Jimmy’s decision to enlist surprised his father, but he was the kind of person who often defied expectations. He was “built like a beer can,” his father said, “but he was a beer can that could run like a gazelle.” Above all, he wanted to serve in Special Forces. He enlisted on September 13, 2011, attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection in May 2012 and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in December 2013 as a Special Forces weapons sergeant. “He did brilliantly going through the Q Course, all of that training,” his father recalled. “But he had no ego.”
Jimmy was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He became a combat diver and a Special Operations diving supervisor and completed the Special Forces Sniper Course, the Joint Terminal Attack Controller Course and the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course. He deployed three times to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility before his final deployment to Jordan, where he served as senior weapons sergeant of Operational Detachment Alpha 5135.
On November 4, 2016, Jimmy and his teammates were returning from training to King Faisal Air Base at al-Jafr when a Jordanian guard at the gate opened fire on their vehicles, killing Staff Sergeants Kevin McEnroe and Matthew Lewellen. Jimmy shouted in Arabic for the gunman to stop. When the guard charged, Jimmy rose from behind a barricade and returned fire with his pistol, drawing the attack onto himself. He was shot and killed, but his actions allowed a fellow Green Beret to wound and stop the assailant and survive. He was 27 years old. “He had a backbone of steel and was utterly unafraid of the challenge he took on,” his father said.
Jimmy was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. On January 27, 2021, which would have been his 32nd birthday, his family received his Silver Star at a ceremony in Houston for gallantry in the face of the attack. His other decorations include the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Operations Diver Supervisor Badge.
Jimmy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. An avid sportsman, he loved to compete, but he loved his team even more. “He was one of the most extraordinary human beings I’ve ever known,” his father said, “and I mourn him every day.” He is survived by his mother, Cindy; his father, Jim; and his sisters, Rebecca and Melissa.
Jimmy was awarded the Silver Star medal on his birthday, January 27, 2021, by Maj. General Miguel Correa for exceptional gallantry under hostile fire in Jordan.
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Sources
- Army Times: ‘Backbone of steel’: Slain Green Beret receives Silver Star four years after attack in Jordan (Jan. 28, 2021)
- KPRC Click2Houston: Fallen Army Green Beret posthumously awarded Silver Star medal in Houston
- Department of Defense: DoD identifies Army casualties (Nov. 6, 2016)
- Green Beret Foundation: James F. Moriarty
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: James Moriarty USASOC bio and father’s tribute
