Army Sgt. Shawn M. Farrell II

Died April 28, 2014 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

24, of Accord, N.Y.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died April 28, in Kapisa province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by small-arms fire.

2 Drum soldiers killed in Afghanistan, DoD confirms

Army Times

Two soldiers from 10th Mountain Division were killed Monday in Afghanistan, the Defense Department has confirmed.

Sgt. Shawn M. Farrell II, 24, and Pfc. Christian J. Chandler, 20, were killed in separate locations, according to DoD announcements released Wednesday.

Farrell, of Accord, New York, of died of wounds when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire in Nejrab District, Kapisa province, according to DoD.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum, New York.

Chandler, of Trenton, Texas, was killed in Baraki Barak District, Logar province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire, DoD confirmed.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain at Fort Drum.

N.Y. flags half-staff in honor of Fort Drum soldier
The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — Flags on New York government buildings will be flying at half-staff to honor a Fort Drum soldier fatally injured during combat in Afghanistan earlier this month.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the flags will be lowered Thursday.

Sgt. Shawn Farrell II of Accord died on April 28 from injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit in the Kapisa Province.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Funeral for New York soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

ACCORD, N.Y. — Inside a skating rink where Shawn Farrell liked to hang out, more than 1,000 mourners filed past the Army sergeant's casket on Thursday; others outside waved flags.

They came to honor and remember the Fort Drum soldier from upstate New York who died when his unit was attacked in Afghanistan last month. His body arrived home in Accord in Ulster County on Wednesday.

At the funeral service at Skate Time, following visitation, the 24-year-old's playful side and public service were celebrated.

Sgt. First Class Michael Mazingo, Farrell's commanding officer, told a story about catching Farrell wearing a Batman belt with his Army uniform, the Times Herald-Record of Middletown (http://bit.ly/1jFXGZl) reported.

"I don't know how to tell you this, sergeant, but I'm Batman," Mazingo said Farrell explained to him. The funeral audience burst out laughing.

Farrell's friends wore Batman buttons, belts and bow ties at the service. A Batman symbol made of flowers sat by the casket along with numerous medals and the soldier's boots, helmet and rifles.

"Heroes are not in comic books," said the Rev. James Hallenbeck. "They're all around us. They are our friends, they are our neighbors. They have given their life. Shawny was my hero."

Both the funeral and the burial at nearby Krumville Cemetery were held with full military honors.

The military says Farrell died April 28 from wounds he suffered when his unit was attacked in the Nejrab District of Kapisa Province. Another soldier also was killed.

Farrell served in the 10th Mountain Division, joining the Army in 2008 after graduating from Rondout Valley High School. He is survived by his wife and parents.