Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth Bennett

Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth “Wade” Bennett, 26, of Glendora, California, was an explosive-ordnance-disposal technician assigned to the 53rd Ordnance Company, 3rd Ordnance Battalion, at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington. He was killed on November 10, 2012, in Sperwan Gar, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, from injuries he sustained when attempting to defuse an improvised explosive device.

SSG Bennett joined the Army in 2004 following graduation from Glendora High School. In 2006, he arrived at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Basic School in Florida. Only 21 when he first deployed, he completed two tours before beginning his final deployment in September 2012. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

Friends remembered SSG Bennett as fun-loving, charismatic and often the life of the party, while his fellow soldiers regarded him as a professional, selfless leader who placed their safety before his own. He was an amazing father who loved fishing with his family, 4-wheeling and going out on the sand rail.

SSG Bennett was survived by his wife and two children, the second of which was born after his death.