Aaron Carson Vaughn

Elite Navy SEAL, Aaron Carson Vaughn, was killed August 6, 2011 when a Chinook chopper carrying 30 American troops was shot down in Afghanistan. Aaron had just celebrated his 30th birthday. He was at the pinnacle of his career and the pinnacle of his life.

In May of 2010, after serving in SEAL Team One for many years, Aaron began the most rigorous selection and training process offered in the U.S. Armed Forces and and earned placement in the coveted Naval Special Warfare Development Group, better known as SEAL Team VI. Aaron completed numerous deployments around the world, including several combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was a highly decorated combat veteran with numerous awards including the Joint Service Achievement Medal with Valor, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Valor, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism (Service) Medal, Global War on Terrorism (Expeditionary) Medal, and numerous other personal and unit decoration. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal with (V) for Valor.

On the personal side...Aaron gave his life to Christ at a very early age and because of that, he had a discernment that was uncharacteristic of a young boy, including a keen ability to see this world in black and white. He was never afraid to recognize or call out evil. By the time he was eight years old, he began telling anyone who would listen, "One day I'm going to be a Navy SEAL." He overcame unimaginable odds to achieve that dream.

Growing up on a small farm in West Tennessee, he loved fishing, hunting, football, 4-wheeling, mudding, and later, after moving to Florida, surfing. But most of all...he loved God, his family, and his country. Aaron never took for granted the fact that he had been blessed enough to have been born in the United States of America where men and women are free.

May his legacy live on through the lives of his children and all of us who seek to bring honor to his name by remembering and defending all he stood for.