Harmon, Matthew Allen

Matthew Allen Harmon was a 29-year-old sergeant from the small town of Lengby, Minnesota. He served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 172nd Infantry Brigade based in Grafenwoehr, Germany. His unit deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On August 14, 2011, Harmon died from wounds sustained during a hostile incident in the Yah Ya Khel district of Paktika province, a volatile region along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. The Department of Defense stated he was killed by enemy small-arms fire. No further operational details of the engagement were publicly released.

Harmon's death occurred in the tenth year of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By 2011, the conflict was characterized by intense counterinsurgency operations in eastern provinces like Paktika, where Taliban and Haqqani network fighters were active.

His body was returned to the United States, and he was buried in his home state of Minnesota. The Department of Defense officially recorded his death in the Defense Casualty Analysis System on the day he was killed.

Sergeant Harmon is memorialized on the Afghanistan War casualty lists and by veterans' organizations. His name is included on the Minnesota Fallen Military Heroes Memorial.

Sgt. Matthew Harmon 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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