Honoring our fallen hero:
Specialist Marc A. Anderson
Operation Anaconda
Killed in Action: March 4, 2002
Specialist Marc A. Anderson, 30, was from Brandon, Florida, and volunteered for military service with the United States Army, July 15, 1998.
He completed basic training and advanced individual training in the military operational specialty of infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia. Specialist Anderson volunteered for the second time to attend Airborne School and completed his airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia. On March 18, 1999, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. He earned his Ranger Tab at Fort Benning.
Specialist Anderson was a Machine Gunner while assigned to 1st Battalion. He was killed while fighting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda during Operation Anaconda, the most intense fighting thus far in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He died March 3 in combat after enemy gunfire forced down a MH-47 Chinook helicopter, in which he and his fellow Rangers were aboard.
As a Ranger, Specialist Anderson distinguished himself as a member of the Army’s premier light-infantry unit and was a highly trained and motivated soldier.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. David L. Anderson, of Jacksonville, Florida, survive him.
Rangers Lead The Way!
Rangers Remembered 
I had the honor to help with the rescue. My wide and I set up a tribute to those six men yesterday at the Pensacola Vererans Memorial Park.
NSDQ
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I was one of Marc’s students in the last math class he taught at Fort Myers Middle School before he joined the army. He was a funny and light hearted guy that took a genuine interest in his students’ education. He spoke often about his family’s military service. I was active duty the year after he died when we invaded Iraq. In 2017 I ran into a group of soldiers in a pub in Colchester, England who were training with the British parachute regiment…one of the soldiers had Marc’s name on a remembrance bracelet as he had previously been in the ranger regiment. What a moment
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