MA1 John ‘Jet Li’ Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb., was one of thirty one United States service members who died in the Aug. 6, 2011, CH-47 Chinook helicopter crash in Wardak province, Afghanistan. Douangdara, a 2003 South Sioux City High School graduate, was a dog handler for the Navy SEALS and went on five tours overseas. He was survived by his family and friends.

“I don’t think my brother would call himself a hero. He was doing his job, doing what he believed in. But in our hearts, he’ll always be our hero.”

-Chan Follen, via Sioux City Journal

The Travis Manion Foundation honored MA1 John Douangdara with 30 other Fallen Heroes through our Character Does Matter program at the Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., on Jan. 18, 2013.