Bradley D. Rappuhn
Specialist, United States Army
April 24, 1986 – August 8, 2010
Age – 24
Grand Ledge, MI
Operation Enduring Freedom
Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA
Died of wounds from an enemy improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
He was born April 24, 1986 in Lansing, MI, son to Cary L. Rappuhn and Roxanne K. Rappuhn. Brad was a graduate of Grand Ledge High School, Class of 2004 and a former member of the Grand Ledge Bowling Team. He was remembered for participating on the bowling team and being a team player. Former coach Tom Braun recalled a tournament in which players were being subbed in and out for the benefit of the team. He took his turn to sit out, and when it was his turn, he bowled great. He picked it up and got us into the finals.” He was a master at disc golf, enjoyed BMX riding, fishing, playing the drums, riding his Harley, spending time with his many friends, and loved his dog Bill.
“I’m absolutely proud,” Roxanne Rappuhn said of her son’s service. “He knew what could ultimately happen to him and it didn’t matter to him.”
Rappuhn was on his first deployment in support of the Global War on Terror.
After graduating from Grand Ledge High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2009. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning as an infantryman. After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, he was assigned to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program also at Fort Benning. Following graduation from the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program in August 2009, Rappuhn was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he served as an anti-armor specialist. As a Ranger, he selflessly lived his life for others while he distinguished himself as a member of the Army’s premier light-infantry unit, which remains continuously deployed in support of the War on Terrorism. In every instance he fought valiantly as he served his fellow Rangers and our great Nation.
Col. Michael Kurilla, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, said Rappuhn was fighting in one of the most heavily defended areas in Afghanistan and that he helped in the destruction of a complex bunker system that included heavy machine guns and mortar systems and resulted in the deaths of seven Taliban fighters. He called Rappuhn a hero.
His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course and the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. Rappuhn’s awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He was also awarded the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Combat Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Purple Heart.
Many adjectives described Bradley “Brad” Rappuhn, but friends say “halfhearted” was never one of them, whether it was in his leisure time paintball, disc golf and drumming were some of his favorites or in his work as an Army Ranger. “I liked to call him B-Rad,” his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Michael Wagner, said. “He was the only guy you would see at the gym or at work on his off time.”
Friends said he wasn’t a complainer, even when he had to repeat grueling training exercises or when he was hit by shrapnel in a grenade blast.
He would have disliked all the fuss involved in his memorials and funeral, they said.