Rolling Honor

Private First Class Shawn Patrick Falter was born on August 27, 1981, in Cortland, NY. PFC Falter attended Homer Senior High School and then enlisted in the Army on August 9, 2005 in Syracuse, NY. He graduated One Station Unit Training as a Field Artilleryman from E Battery, 1st Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Upon completion of One Station Unit Training and Airborne School he was assigned to 4th BCT (ABN), 25th ID at Fort Richardson, Alaska. On May 15, 2006, he arrived to A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment where he served as a Cannoneer.

He participated in several training exercises with the battalion and participated in the Joint Readiness Training Center Exercise 06-09 and then deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-07. While deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment he was under the tactical control of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, where he participated in numerous combat operations and patrols in North Babil and the Karbala Province. PFC Falter was killed in action during combat operations in the Karbala Province on January 20, 2007.

PFC Falter's awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Parachutist Badge. He earned and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, and the Combat Action Badge.

PFC Falter is survived by his parents, Russ Falter and Patricia Greenwood, and step-mother Linda Falter.