Hometown: Cockeysville, MD
Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) “Green Beret”
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal
Date of Sacrifice: November 23, 2009 - KIA in Pashay Kala, Afghanistan
Age: 34
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021 

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, prompted Matthew Pucino to serve in defense of his country. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 2002, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group of the Maryland Army National Guard in Glen Arm. He served in the Global War on Terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan, having earned a Green Beret as a Special Forces Engineer Sergeant.

U.S. Representative Michael Waltz, then Pucino’s Green Beret commander, recounts Pucino’s bravery in an opinion piece for The St. Augustine Record:

While conducting a raid on Christmas Eve, Matt’s team came under heavy attack. A sergeant was badly wounded and needed blood to survive. Without hesitation, Matt got into the chopper with him and gave three pints of blood, jokingly telling the sergeant he was now part Pucino. After he gave his own blood to his fellow soldier, Matt didn’t hesitate. He left the chopper to get right back into the fight — because that's what a warrior does.

When the Taliban shifted its offensive tactics to tripwire bombs, Matt volunteered himself to go out in front of our convoy so he could be close to the ground to see the wires. His thinking was that if he took a hit, at least his five teammates in the humvee behind him would be left unscathed. 

Matt’s willingness to sacrifice himself for others cost him his life — and on Nov. 23, 2009, he was killed when his four-wheeler hit an IED.

For his selflessness and courage, SSG Matthew Pucino was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. He served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is laid to rest with his fellow soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60, Site 8963), across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.