Airman 1st Class Jesse Monroe Samek
Born: January 3, 2024
Died: October 21, 2024 in Kandahar, Afghanistan
Air Force Airman 1st Class Jesse M. Samek of Rogers, Arkansas graduated from Rogers High School in 2001 and attended the University of Arkansas for a year before deciding to join the Air Force. He was a great outdoorsman. He loved camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and snow and waterskiing. He played recreational hockey as a goalie. He worked for months in a training program, and became a member of an elite group that qualified for the rescue duty as a flight engineer on a HH-60 Para Rescue helicopter. He leaves his parents, Gavin and Julia Samek, and his brother, Benjamin Samek. Jesse died at age 21 from injuries he received when an Air Force HH-60 helicopter aircraft crashed during a medical evacuation mission in Afghanistan. Jesse was an avid Cardinals and Blues fan. Nellis AFB named the Nellis Airmen’s Center in honor of Jesse who was the base’s first post 9-11 combat death. The center is now called the Jesse M. Samek Airmen’s Center. It is a recreational facility for airmen to congregate for entertainment and relaxation.
Air Force
66th Rescue Squadron
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Burial is at Bella Vista Memorial Garden Cemetery in Bella Vista, Arkansas - Sec 4 Row 4
The Airman 1st Class Jesse Monroe Samek by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
