Koele, Shane Marion
Male
Verified Staff Sergeant Shane Marion Koele, 25, of Wayne, Nebraska, was a U.S. Army soldier serving with the 212th Military Police Company. He died on March 16, 2005, in Shindand, Afghanistan, from hostile action.
Their Story
Shane Marion Koele was a 25-year-old Staff Sergeant from Wayne, Nebraska. He served in the U.S. Army as a military policeman assigned to the 212th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, V Corps, based in Kitzingen, Germany. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
On March 16, 2005, Koele was killed in Shindand, a district in Afghanistan's western Herat Province. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, his death was the result of hostile action. No further specific details regarding the incident were publicly released by the military.
Koele's death occurred during the fourth year of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. In early 2005, U.S. and coalition forces were engaged in counter-insurgency operations against Taliban and Al-Qaeda remnants across the country, including in western provinces like Herat.
The Army posthumously awarded Koele the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. He was survived by his wife, parents, and siblings. His funeral was held in his hometown of Wayne, Nebraska.
Shane Koele is memorialized on the Afghanistan War Memorial at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and on the 'Faces of the Fallen' tribute page maintained by *The Washington Post*. His name is inscribed on Panel 8W, Line 123 of the Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Wall in Omaha, Nebraska.
Explore Further
Shane Koele 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.
