Army Maj. Michael J. Donahue

Died September 16, 2014 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

41, of Columbus, Ohio, died Sept. 16 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a suicide car bomb attack. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Paratrooper major killed in Afghanistan

A paratrooper from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, officials announced Wednesday.

Maj. Michael Donahue, 41, was an operations support officer with C Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps.

“The Dragon Family has suffered a great loss today, and we would like to express our deepest condolences to the Donahue family,” said Lt. Col. Gabriel Barton, Donahue’s battalion commander, in a statement. “Maj. Michael Donahue was an exceptional officer and a huge part of our team and our family.”

Donahue died in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in an enemy attack, according to a Defense Department announcement. Also killed was Stephen Byus, 39, a member of the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime in Columbus, Ohio. Byus, a civilian, was working in Afghanistan as a supply specialist assigned to the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.

Donahue, who was from Columbus, Ohio, enlisted in the Army in February 1996 and commissioned through Officer Candidate School in April 2000. He arrived at Fort Bragg in July 2012, where he was assigned to the corps’ Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.

He served three combat tours of duty.

Donahue’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Senior Parachutist Badge.

Donahue is survived by his wife, Sherri, and their children Victoria, Seamus and Bailey.