Staff Sergeant Ronald Shurer II passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2020. He was a member of the Special Forces Regiment. Shurer was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in combat in Afghanistan.
He was recognized for his role during Operation Commando Wrath – a day-long fierce firefight with the Taliban. He was instrumental in saving the lives of a number of U.S. Army Green Berets as well as those of the Afghan Commandos who were on the joint operation.
He was born on December 7, 1978 in Fairbanks, Alasak. His hometown was Puyallup, Washington. While in high school he was a member of the swim team and participated in triathlons and cycling.. Following high school he attended Washington State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics.
Following the events of September 11, 2001 Shurer decided to join the Army. He enlisted in 2002 and served initially as a medic with the 44th Medical Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 2004 he entered the Special Forces training pipeline and qualified as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant.
Shurer was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June 2006. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2006-2007 and then later in 2007 to 2008. He separated from the Army and was hired by the U.S. Secret Service. He would later become a member of the Secret Service Counter Assault Team.
SSG Shurer was serving as a medical sergeant with his Special Forces detachment in Afghanistan in 2008 when they took part in Operation Commando Wrath – also know as the Battle of Shok Valley.
**********
News Articles about Ron Shurer:
May 14, 2020. “Medal of Honor Recipient SSG Ronald J. Shurer II Passes Away”, Army.mil.
May 14, 2020. “Medal of Honor recipient, former Green Beret Ronald Shureer, dies at 41”, Army Times.
September 21, 2018. “Green Beret SSG Ronald Shurer to Receive Medal of Honor”, SOF News.
References:
Medal of Honor – Staff Sergeant Ronald J. Shurer II
https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/shurer/
Indomitable Valor – SSG Ronald J. Shurer II
Office of the Command Historian – USASOC
https://arsof-history.org/medal_of_honor/recipient_shurer.html
Ronald J. Shurer II – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_J._Shurer
Video – Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer: Shok Valley, U.S. Army YouTube, December 12, 2018, 8 minutes. Shurer describes his actions on the day he earned the Medal of Honor in 2008 in Afghanistan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtbInWeKDw
Photos: Courtesy of the U.S. Army.
