Sean Michael Gaul was born on June 25, 1978, in Cresco, Howard County, Iowa. He was the son of Christine M. Minear and Michael F. Gaul. He was married to Jessica L. H. Gaul. A graduate of the Army’s Sniper School, he attended Reed High School and was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He served as an Infantryman, training in kenpo, aikido, and ninjitsu, and progressed from Corporal with B Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (2001–2003), to Sergeant with the 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning) in Hawaii (2004–2006), and later to Staff Sergeant with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment in Vilseck, Germany (2007–2008), completing three deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan.

On January 9, 2008, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, SSgt Gaul was killed in action while participating in a search operation in Sinsil, Diyala Province, approximately sixty miles north of Baghdad. He and his team entered a house that had been cleared of hazards two weeks earlier, unaware that insurgents had since returned and rigged the structure with explosives. A pressure-activated improvised explosive device detonated inside the building, killing SSgt Gaul along with five other soldiers. He is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, memorial.2dcavalryassociation.com, thefallen.militarytimes.com