Ezra Dawson – Sergeant, United States Army

U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 053-09
January 23, 2009

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Sergeant Ezra Dawson, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada, died January 17, 2009, in Konar Province, Afghanistan when the Chinook helicopter he was in made a hard landing under combat conditions. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.


FORT HOOD, Texas – Post officials announced Friday the death of a Fort Hood soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sergeant Ezra Dawson, 31, of Las Vegas, died January 17, 2009, in Konar Province, Afghanistan, when the Chinook helicopter he was in made a hard landing under combat conditions.

ezra-dawson-photo-01

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, according to information from Fort Hood.

Dawson entered the military in September 2004 as in infantryman.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, since January 2008.

He deployed to Afghanistan in July 2008.

Ezra Dawson joined the U.S. Army Reserve in late 1999 as a supply specialist. Five years later, he kept the job but switched to active duty.

Dawson left the military and rejoined in mid-2007, this time as an infantryman. Nearly a year later he deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Sergeant Dawson, a 31-year-old Las Vegas native, died January 17, 2009, in the Konar Province when the Chinook helicopter he was in made a hard landing under combat conditions, according to information from Fort Hood. He and two other brigade soldiers were honored at a memorial service Thursday at Fort Hood.

Dawson joined the Battalion Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in January 2008. He served as a junior scout and sniper team member, and a leader for a reconnaissance team in the Korengal Valley.

His awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, NATO Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and Combat Infantry Badge.


A soldier from Las Vegas died January 17, 2009, when a helicopter he was riding in made a hard landing under combat conditions in the Konar Province of Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Sergeant Ezra Dawson, 31, had joined the Army to improve his life, said his ex-wife, Felicia Tucker, who divorced Dawson in 2003 but remained in touch through the years. He had been working as a waiter, she said.

“He wanted to better himself, so he figured that would be the way,” Tucker said.

The son of a preacher, Dawson grew up and attended school in Oklahoma before moving to Las Vegas as a young man, she said.

Dawson, a sometime rapper and stand-up comedian, was an upbeat and happy man, she said.

He joined the Army in September 2004 as an infantryman. He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, since January 2008, according to the Army.

He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, when he was shipped to Afghanistan in July.

The helicopter landing remained under investigation, the Army said.

Dawson was the 62nd military member with Nevada ties to have died in the nation’s wars overseas since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Ezra Dawson

An honor guard carries the casket of Sergeant Ezra Dawson during his funeral at
Arlington National Cemetery Thursday, February 5, 2009.

Arlington Funeral Afghanistan

An honor guard carries the casket of Sergeant Ezra Dawson during his funeral at
Arlington National Cemetery Thursday February 5, 2009

Starlia Dawson

Starlia Dawson

Starlia Dawson, widow of Army Sergeant Ezra Dawson, 31, of Las Vegas, weeps during his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery Thursday, February 5, 2009

DAWSON, EZRA

  • SGT   US ARMY
  • DATE OF BIRTH: 12/09/1977
  • DATE OF DEATH: 01/17/2009
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 60  SITE 8751
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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