82nd Airborne: Spc. Christopher M. Katzenberger killed in action Aug 9 2005, Other Heroes Honored

Spc. Christopher M. Katzenberger of St. Louis, M.O.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division; was killed in action Aug. 9, 2005 of injuries sustained while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Please help us honor this Fallen Paratrooper and never forget his ultimate sacrifice! 82nd Airborne .

On 8 August in 2007: Spc. Jeremiah A. Church, assigned to 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was conducting an intelligence gathering operation north of Baquba, Iraq in 2007. As his convoy maneuvered through a restrictive canal road they were engaged by heavy machine gun fire. As the M2 .50-caliber gunner he immediately returned fire, but came under even more fire from trenches surrounding his position. Due to the terrain, no other vehicles could engage with accurate fire leaving Spc. Church in an intense firefight with more than 30 insurgents. 

While engaging, he was shot through the wrist with a 7.62 mm round but continued to load his weapon and engage with one hand. Due to profuse bleeding, he self-applied a tourniquet before exiting his truck to gather more ammunition with complete disregard for his own safety. Spc. Church continued to engage the enemy until he passed out from pain and blood loss. He regained consciousness to find his forward observer had manned his M2. He gathered and passed ammunition to the new gunner, dismounting twice to gather additional ammunition under continued intense machine gun fire. For his actions that day, Spc. Church was awarded the Silver Star.