IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 512-10
June 21, 2010

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Private First Class Benjamin J. Park, 25, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, died June 18, 2010, at Zhari district, Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

For more information, the media may contact the Fort Campbell Public Affairs Office at 270-798-3025.

Private First Class Benjamin J. Park, 25, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, was an infantryman assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He joined the Army in August 2009 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January 2010.

Park’s awards and decorations include: National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; Combat Infantry Badge and Weapons Qualification, M4, expert.

Park is survived by his mother, In Sook Park, and father, Do Hyun Park of Fairfax Station, Virginia.

The Defense Department said Pfc. Benjamin J. Park, 25, died in the Zhari district in Kandahar. He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division and was on dismounted patrol, said Kelly A. DeWitt, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where the division is stationed.

She said Park joined the Army in August and was sent to Fort Campbell in January. Survivors include his mother, In Sook Park, and his father, Do Hyun Park. Neighbors said he is also survived by a sister.

A neighbor recalled Park, as a youth, darting across a street to stop her child's stroller when it began speeding down a hill.

PARK, BENJAMIN JAEWON
PFC   US ARMY
DATE OF BIRTH: 06/21/1984
DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/2010
BURIED AT: SECTION 60  SITE 9167
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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