Army Sergeant First Class Earl Robert Fillmore Jr., 28, of Derry, Pennsylvania, served as a Special Forces combat medic with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta—commonly known as Delta Force—and Task Force Ranger. He was killed on October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, while fighting through hostile fire toward the crash site of a downed Black Hawk helicopter. Positioned at the front of the rescue force, he was fatally wounded while defending his fellow soldiers. His actions helped spare numerous members of the assault force from injury or death.

SFC Fillmore graduated from Derry Area High School in 1983 and entered the Army that August, continuing a family tradition of military service. After training as a medic, he completed the Special Forces medical course and served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. At age 24, he became one of the youngest soldiers selected for Delta Force. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

Fellow combat medic Robert Mabry described Earl as “a fearless and tenacious combat medic” who could fight his way through danger and still care for wounded comrades.

Earl was survived by his wife, his mother and six sisters.