Newman, Clinton Thomas
Male
Verified Staff Sergeant Clinton Thomas Newman, 26, of San Antonio, Texas, was a U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldier. He was killed in a hostile incident in Deh Rawod, Afghanistan, on February 13, 2006.
Their Story
Clinton Thomas Newman was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion, part of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula, based in Phoenix, Arizona. His service included deployments to Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa. Civil Affairs units specialize in building relationships between military forces and local populations, often working on reconstruction and governance projects.
On February 13, 2006, Newman was killed in Deh Rawod, a district in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. According to the Department of Defense, his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) while he was on patrol. He was 26 years old. Another soldier, Specialist Harley D. Miller, was killed in the same incident.
Newman's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By 2006, the conflict was in a phase characterized by a resurgence of Taliban insurgency, which increasingly used IEDs and ambushes against coalition and Afghan forces, particularly in southern provinces like Uruzgan.
His body was returned to the United States, and he was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. The Army posthumously awarded him the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. His name is inscribed on the Afghanistan War Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park in Bakersfield, California, where he reportedly lived prior to service.
Staff Sergeant Newman is remembered by his unit and family as a dedicated soldier. His role in Civil Affairs placed him at the intersection of military operations and community engagement, a critical and often dangerous task during the conflict.
Explore Further
Staff Sergeant Newman 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: Santos, Dave Michael Maliksi, Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif.
