Corlew, Sean Mitchell

Technical Sergeant Sean Mitchell Corlew was a 37-year-old Air Force special operations airman assigned to the 15th Special Operations Squadron, based at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He was from Thousand Oaks, California.

On June 12, 2002, Corlew was aboard an MH-47E Chinook helicopter on a combat mission in eastern Afghanistan. The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain approximately 35 miles east of Gardez in Paktia province. According to U.S. military reports, the crash was not caused by hostile fire. Corlew and another special operations soldier, Army Staff Sergeant Anselmo Martinez III, were killed.

Corlew died during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign that began in October 2001 following the September 11 attacks. By mid-2002, major combat operations had displaced the Taliban government, but U.S. and allied forces were engaged in a protracted counter-insurgency against Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants, particularly in Afghanistan's eastern and southern regions.

His death was reported by major news outlets, including The New York Times and the Associated Press, which detailed the circumstances of the helicopter crash. The Air Force posthumously awarded Corlew the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

Corlew is memorialized on the Air Force Special Operations Command memorial wall at Hurlburt Field and on online veterans' memorials. His name is included on the Afghanistan War casualty lists maintained by the Department of Defense.

Sean Corlew was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001?2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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