Description:
Keith Matthew "Matt" Maupin (13 July 1983–date of death unknown) is a United States Army PFC captured by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 while serving in the Iraq War after his convoy came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire near Baghdad, Iraq. On June 28, 2004, Al Jazeera reported that he was executed by his captors who shot him in the head. On June 30, 2004, an Army spokesman said the video showing Maupin's alleged death was "totally inconclusive." His body was found in late March 2008, but confirmation was not made until March 30, 2008 in Iraq. On April 9, 2004, Maupin's fuel convoy came under attack near the Baghdad International Airport. In what was described as a 5-mile long ambush, the 26-vehicle serial was pummeled by gunfire, mortar rounds and RPGs, disabling many of the civilian fuel tankers and Army vehicles. After the remnants of the convoy reached safe ground it was learned that around ten soldiers and civilian KBR contractors were wounded while one soldier and a civilian driver had been killed in the battle. PFC Maupin was among the nine people unaccounted for – seven civilians and two soldiers. On April 16, 2004, Maupin appeared on a videotape broadcast 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. The U.S. Army has deemed the tape inconclusive because it is unclear whether the man was Maupin or if anyone was executed at all. On March 30, 2008, Maupin's father told local newsmedia that the remains of his son had been found. He states that an Army general had told him that DNA was used to identify the remains. According to an Army statement, Maupin's remains "were recovered northwest of Baghdad on March 20, by soldiers from 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, based out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, attached to 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment." The unit called the recovery effort "Operation Trojan Honor", after the mascot of Maupin's high school, Glen Este. A tip from an Iraqi citizen led to the recovery of Maupin's remains. Maupin has been promoted three times since he was declared missing in action, first from Private First Class to Specialist, then to Sergeant, then lastly, Staff Sergeant.
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