Edward Duane Cantrell
Chief Warrant Officer 2
U.S. Army Special Forces
Iraq & Afghanistan

Edward Duane Cantrell was born on 16 December 1975 in Tennessee.

Cantrell joined the U.S. Army in 1994 and became a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces. He served one combat deployment in Iraq and five combat deployments in Afghanistan, the last of which ended in August 2011. Cantrell was a Chief Warrant Officer 2 and his last assignment was as a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, NC. CWO2 Cantrell's rank and training allowed him to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up, according to Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command.

In the early morning of 6 March 2012, Edward Cantrell, his wife Louise, and their daughters Isabella, age 6, and Natalia, age 4, were asleep upstairs in their century-old home at 4151 Pecan Drive just outside Hope Mills, a suburb of Fayetteville, NC. Shortly before 2:00 a.m. a fire broke out and Edward and Louise escaped the flames by jumping from a second-story window. Louise ran to a nursing home next door to get someone to call 911 while Edward went back inside to get Isabella and Natalia. Edward's rescue attempt was unsuccessful and he and his daughters perished in the intense fire. Louise Cantrell was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Foul play was not suspected in the fire and officials believe that the age of the home, with its very dry wood, might have contributed to the speed and intensity of the fire. The woman next door who called 911 said, "And you could see the big beams on fire. You could hear the glass shattering from the smoke on the inside - from the heat and everything. And then the backside was all up in flames. It was just a really, just, it was just a horrific scene."

Burial

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Edward Duane Cantrell and his daughters are buried together at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, VA. Edward and Natalia Marie Cantrell are in Section 60, Site 10004 and Isabella Louise Cantrell is in Section 60, Site 10005.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Bronze Star Medal (4 Awards)
Purple Heart (2 Awards)
Army Commendation Medal with Combat Valor Device (1 Award)
Army Commendation Medal (4 Awards)
Army Achievement Medal (11 Awards)
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 4 Stars
Iraq Campaign Medal with 1 Star
Kosovo Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Overseas Service Ribbons (6 Awards)
Army Service Ribbon
NATO Medal

Combat Infantryman Badge
Master Parachutist Badge
Air Assault Badge

Honors

Recipient of the Bruce E. Price Leadership Award