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MA2 Michael A. Monsoor
Photo: Monsoor 2 · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Example report · public record

MA2 Michael A. Monsoor

A Navy SEAL with SEAL Team 3, Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Monsoor fought in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006. On 29 September 2006 he smothered an enemy grenade to protect his teammates and was killed. He received the Medal of Honor in 2008, and the destroyer USS Michael Monsoor bears his name.

Service
U.S. Navy 2001–2006
Unit
SEAL Team 3 (Task Unit Bruiser)
Conflict
Iraq War
Hometown
Garden Grove, California
Born
5 April 1981
Died
29 September 2006
Honors
Medal of Honor (posthumous)

Summary sources: Wikipedia: Michael A. Monsoor. Related pages: SEAL Team 3 .

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The full automatic report follows. It is a research summary, not an official record. Lines marked "Likely" are labeled guesses.
Service story · researched from public records

Michael Anthony Monsoor — Navy, 2001–2006

Born 1981 · Died 2006-09-29

CONFIRMED

GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR1 RECORD PAGE2 SOURCES CITED
At a glance

Michael Anthony Monsoor

Confirmed match   ·   Written for family readers — military jargon explained as you go.

Who
Michael Anthony Monsoor · born 1981 · died 2006-09-29
Service
Navy · 2001–2006
His job
Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (rank and duty as listed in the casualty file)
Where
Garden Grove, CA
Most notable moment (from the records):
Casualty file: 2006-09-29 with SEAL Team 3.
Why we matched this record (Confirmed, 96 evidence points)
same last name; first name matches; same branch; independently corroborated by VA Gravesite Locator; ✗ war listed as Operation Iraqi Freedom; Medal of Honor on public award record; public casualty/death profile matched; unit listed as SEAL Team 3.

Other records that line up:

Confirmed = an exact identifier matches. Likely = several independent details match. Possible = some details match; needs checking.

01 · Where he went

His journey on a map

Stops are in date order. The picture below is part of this file (works on iPad preview and offline). Estimated dates are marked date uncertain.

Overview map of Michael Anthony Monsoor service stops

Overview map(s) embedded in this file (works offline / without JavaScript). Wide service paths use separate regional panels (US / Europe / Pacific). Numbers match the stop list and chapters. The interactive Leaflet map below is optional. PDF mailing copies use these overview maps only.

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Map layers (interactive only)

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Stops in date order

1. date unknown uncertain — Long Beach, California, United States (Birthplace (biography))
02 · Timeline

What the records say, in order

2006-09-29
Public memorial / award record: Master-at-Arms 2nd Class, Navy, SEAL Team 3, Medal of Honor. Medal of Honor; SEAL Ramadi grenade from records found CONFIRMED1
Wars
Battles/wars: tree list; Iraq War; * Battle of RamadiKIA tree list/end. PROBABLE2
Awards
Medal of Honor; Silver Star; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart PROBABLE2
Ranks explained

Every rate he held, decoded

Service records write ranks and rates in dense abbreviations — Army grades such as Pvt/Pfc; Navy rates such as ( S1c(SM) or SM2c(T)). Below is each rate that appears in his records — badge, plain English, pay grade, a rough Army equivalent, and what the specialty did day to day. Badges are diagrammatic WWII-style rating marks (specialty symbol + chevrons), generated for this report so the standalone file works offline.

MA2 rating badge
Rate / rank

MA2 — MA2

Pay grade: —  ·  Rough Army equivalent: —

What it meant: Enlisted rate as written on the muster roll (OCR may distort the abbreviation).

Day to day (general, not personal): A sailor rated MA2 performed the duties of that specialty on a Navy ship.

Muster-roll abbreviation glossary
AbbreviationMeaning

General reference from WWII Navy rating structure and common muster annotations. OCR on scanned rolls can garble letters (S1c↔Slc, MoMM1c↔MoMMlc); always check the page image.

Appendix · Original documents (archive scans)

Scans from the National Archives. Click to enlarge when viewing in a full browser.

Family input

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Notable stories

Why his name is remembered

Ramadi rooftop — covering a grenade

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL in Ramadi (29 Sep 2006), threw himself onto a grenade to save teammates on a rooftop. He died of his wounds and received the Medal of Honor. — CMOHS

Medal of Honor

Michael Monsoor was awarded the Medal of Honor. See the citation links below for the official account of the action. — Award record / CMOHS

Notable-story text is labeled with sources. Memoir and secondary accounts are marked; primary award citations are preferred when available.

03 · Gaps and next records

What we still don't know

1
No VA-maintained burial record found under this name. Private-cemetery government headstones before 1997 are often missing from the VA dataset.
2
Discharge date, decorations and full unit list are in the personnel file (request with SF-180; a DD-214 copy from the family can be decoded here).
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SF-180 / eVetRecs

Request his Official Military Personnel File (next of kin can request free).

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Headstone application

NARA series 'Applications for Headstones, 1925–1963' (and later VA files) often give serial, unit and dates.

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County discharge record

Many veterans recorded their discharge at the county clerk after the war — ask the county where he lived.

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Draft card

WWII draft cards (FamilySearch, free account) give birth date, address, employer and next of kin.

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04 · Sources
  1. 1 Curated public memorial profile (Wikipedia/CMOHS-backed) — https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/michael-a-monsoor
  2. 2 Wikipedia: Michael A. Monsoor (secondary source) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_A._Monsoor
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Not affiliated with the VA, National Archives or Department of Defense. Not an official record, and not for benefits, medals or burial claims. Official copies are free from the National Personnel Records Center via SF-180. Lines marked "Likely" are labeled guesses.