SSG Matt Maupin was born on July 13, 1983 in Batavia, Ohio. He was a 3.5 grade-point-average student and football player at Glen Este High School in Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio. He graduated in 2001 and joined the U.S. Army Reserve and was assigned to the Army Reserve's 724th Transportation Company, from Bartonville, Illinois.
On April 9, 2004, Maupin's fuel convoy came under attack near the Baghdad International Airport. He was reported as disappeared (technically missing in action) along with Sgt. Elmer Krause and a small group of private military contractors from Kellogg, Brown and Root, which included hostage Thomas Hamill, who was later rescued.
On April 16, 2004, the face of Maupin was broadcast on a videotape by the Arabic-language TV network Al-Jazeera. The tape, reportedly delivered to the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar, raised hopes that Maupin was still alive. In the video, the soldier identified himself as "Private First Class Keith Matthew Maupin," a standard procedure followed by prisoners of war which protect their rights under the Third Geneva Convention.
On June 28, 2004, Al-Jazeera reported that Maupin was executed by a group identifying itself as the Persistent Power Against the Enemies of God and the Prophet. The method of execution in the alleged report was a gunshot to the head.
Maupin has been promoted twice since he was declared missing in action, first from Private First Class to Specialist, and then to Sergeant. As of April 6, 2005 he is the only U.S. soldier unaccounted for in Iraq.
http://www.bluestarmothers.org/documents/maupin.htm
His parent's website is: http://www.yellowribbonsupportcenter.com/index_pow.html
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