Benjamin Moore, Jr. – Command Sergeant Major, United States Army

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 277-09
April 25, 2009

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Command Sergeant Major Benjamin Moore, Jr., 43, of Waycross, Georgia, died April 24, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

4 May 2009:

Services for Army Command Sergeant Major Benjamin Moore Jr. of Waycross will be Saturday in Blackshear followed by burial May 12, 2009, at Arlington National Cemetery, family members said.

Moore, 43, died April 24, 2009, at U.S. Army Contingency Operating Base Speicher in northern Iraq of noncombat injuries received in Salah ad Din province, Army officials have said.

His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Emanuel Baptist Church, 217 West Carter Ave. in Blackshear, one of Moore’s sisters, Teresa Brakes, told the Times-Union today.

“We still don’t know what happened, but we are grateful that we have his body here, and we can get some closure,” Brakes said.

Known affectionately as “Benny” to his 17 siblings, Moore will be buried May 12, 2009, in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., she said.

The Army is flying all Moore’s siblings as well as his wife and children to the burial, Brakes, 50, said.

Investigation continues into his death, and no additional information will be released until it is concluded,  Loran Doane, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii, where Moore had been stationed.

Noncombat deaths can result from vehicle or other accidents or natural causes, Army officials have said.

An expert infantryman, Moore earned 55 medals including a Bronze Star with Valor during his nearly 26-year career, with overseas service in Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. He also was air assault and airborne qualified.

Moore was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. His most recent deployment to Iraq began in October 2008.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, also a soldier; their daughter, Krystal D. Moore of Honolulu, and two sons: Marcellus Moore, also of Honolulu, and Air Force Airman First Class Benjamin Moore III of Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

The youngest child in a close-knit family, Moore also is survived by 12 sisters, five brothers and one granddaughter as well as numerous nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, Brakes, 50, said.

He joined the Army immediately after graduating from Waycross High School in 1983. A devoted family man, Moore was widely respected by his fellow soldiers.

An amateur photographer, Moore loved to give impromptu slide shows at family reunions, and at gatherings with his fellow soldiers. Family and comrades were his favorite photo subjects, she said.

Tributes to Moore and condolences to his family from people around the globe who knew or served with him continue to pour in to his online memorial guest book at Legacy.com.

A total of 143 people including former classmates of his from Waycross High, as well as from Army training courses had signed the online guest book for Moore as of this morning.

“I am deeply sadden by the passing of Ben. He was a classmate of mine in the Sergeants Majors Academy (Class 57). He was always full of joy and laughter. He represented the Sergeants Majors of the Army to the Upmost …,” Master Sergeant Russell D. Wall, stationed in the Republic of Korea, wrote on the Web site.

Brakes said those messages have comforted their family, who trusted and relied on him from the time they were children.

Her brother was a natural leader, whose kindness, compassion and sense of honor touched many lives, she said.

“Benny really was loved and respected by those who knew him,” Brakes said.

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