Memorial

Brian J. Ouellette

Specialty:
Navy SEAL
ouellette purple heart
BUD/S Class:
173
SEAL Service:
13 years
Rank:
Petty Officer First Class
Age:
37
Home:
Needham, MA
Assigned:
Naval Special Warfare Group TWO, Little Creek, VA
Died:
May 29, 2004
Operation:
Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
Details:
Died with three others conducting a mounted patrol on May 29, 2004, when their vehicle struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as it swerved to avoid another IED in the road.  They had been returning to their base of operations near Kandahar Airport.
Awards:
Purple Heart
Other Awards:
TBD
Contributions:
Brian Ouellette was part of a dedicated team fighting the Taliban, a fundamentalist regime that a U.S.-led coalition knocked from power in Afghanistan in 2001, but which has continued to conduct guerilla operations, particularly along the Pakistan border. Ouellette helped ensure that al-Qaeda terrorists could not regroup, train in, or launch strikes from Afghanistan since their lethal attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

Brian Ouellette graduated from Waltham High School in 1985, where he played football. Ouellette enlisted in the Navy in February 1990, went directly into BUD/S training, and graduated in 1991. He served 13 years as a Navy SEAL.

On May 24, 2004, Ouellette was conducting a mounted combat patrol in Zabul province, Afghanistan, about 240 miles southwest of Kabul, the nation’s capitol. He was killed along with three other members of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan when their Humvee struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as they swerved to avoid another IED in the road.

Brian Ouellette is remembered with the greatest respect and gratitude by his fellow SEALs, the Navy, and our nation.

Memorials: Fellow service members remembered Brian Ouellette for his great strength, leadership, and friendship. One SEAL teammate wrote, “Brian, it was an honor serving with you at SEAL Team FOUR. I will never forget you my brother.”

Another SEAL wrote in memorial, “Brian, you are my hero for many different reasons. Thank you for your friendship and for being a brother. You will never be forgotten and you are a true warrior.”

A friend from high school football days remembered him as, “a great teammate…and always good to the younger guys …He was just a tough, no-nonsense type of guy.”

Belying his tough exterior and fierce competitiveness, Ouellette was compassionate and nurturing, particularly to to his seven siblings, and nine nieces and nephews.

Per a June 24, 2004 tribute in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, “Brian died fighting for the country he loved, alongside the fellow sailors he respected, and with the family he adored forever in his heart. Our nation is humbled and grateful for his sacrifice.”

 

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