Freedom Remembered

Staff Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, a native of Williamsville, New York. A quarterback for the high school football team, he also excelled at basketball and baseball. Aaron cared deeply for everyone he knew. The long, snowy Buffalo New York area winters meant frequent trips to his neighbors to make sure they were OK and they had everything they needed. In 10th grade, he moved to the Atlanta Georgia area with his mother and joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Roswell High School in 1998. In his twelve year career, he was twice named Marine of the Year. In 2001 he was stationed in Germany and for a few years served on humanitarian missions in Africa. He retunred to America and attended Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he graduated as a Distinquished Honor Graduate. Assigned then to Central Command in Tampa, Florida, he went several times to Iraq. Offered a desk job, Aaron would have nothing to do with it, he wanted to be out, teaching and supporting his men. His deep caring for his fellow soldiers earned him a Purple Heart a few days before his death. He took shrapnel during a fire-fight, and quickly asked the medics to get it out, he needed to be with his men. A quick sew job and he was back out. This was the kind of man he was, a leader, not a follower. Aaron was killed along with three other Marines in an ambush in Afghanistan on September 8, 2009 in the Kunar Province. Aaron will be laid to rest next to his maternal grandfather, Stuart Price, in Acacia Park and Resthaven Memorial Gardens in North Tonawanda, New York.

Aaron was assigned to 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.