Dunning, Stephen Joel

Stephen Joel Dunning was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, assigned to the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, based out of Okinawa, Japan. A native of Milpitas, California, he was 31 years old at the time of his death. His service included deployments to the Philippines and the Horn of Africa before his assignment to Afghanistan.

On October 27, 2011, Dunning was killed in Helmand province, a volatile region in southern Afghanistan. According to U.S. Department of Defense casualty reports, he died from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations. The Marine Corps stated he was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Operation Enduring Freedom was the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001 following the September 11 attacks. By late 2011, the conflict was in its tenth year, with a significant concentration of U.S. and allied forces engaged in counterinsurgency efforts in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Dunning's death was reported by the Department of Defense and noted in several news publications. He was one of 42 American service members killed in Afghanistan in October 2011, a month that saw a continued high tempo of operations.

Staff Sergeant Dunning is listed on the Afghanistan War casualty rolls maintained by the Pentagon and on several online memorials dedicated to fallen service members. His name is inscribed on the Afghanistan and Iraq War Memorial at the Veterans Memorial Building in his hometown of Milpitas.

Stephen Dunning 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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