PLYMOUTH, MA, USA
U.S. Army
SPC, HHC, 1ST BATTALION, 508TH INFANTRY, 4 BCT, FORT BRAGG, NC
AFGHANISTAN 11/04/2009
The two Americans, from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, went missing November. 4, 2009 in the Bala Barghab area of Badghis during a routine resupply mission. The two were swept away by the river as they tried to recover airdropped supplies that had accidentally fallen into the water. Six days after he went missing, military divers announced from Kabul, Afghanistan that they had found Army Specialist Benjamin Sherman’s body. Family believe Specialist Sherman of Plymouth, Mass., died after jumping into the river to try to save his comrade, who was swept away by the current in the remote, Taliban-infested province of Badghis, which borders Turkmenistan. They were part of the support their unit was providing to NATO operations.
The words of his Mother and Sister tell about Ben to the US public and its President. Ben was strong-willed and he was never a quitter. He was raised him with the understanding that when you choose to do something you do it to the best of your ability. He was powerful, ingenuitive, and determined. No wonder he fit in the Army so well. He was called the unstoppable one. He was raised under the American flag to be honorable, loyal, respectful, and courteous. He would consider every single soldier, friend, or a stranger his brother. When he jumped into the river to try and save his comrade did not just see another soldier in the water, he saw his brother. There is no doubt that he would do the same for each and every single individual, not only in the United States but anywhere in the world. And everything he did, he did it 150 percent. He put his heart and soul into anything and everything. He loved tattoos and music and drums and he was an avid Boston sports fan. He loved the Red Sox. But most importantly, family — He loved his family. He didn’t consider his friends his friends. He considered them his family, his brothers and sisters.