Matthew D. Mason: He Insisted on Going Back, Extortion 17

Born on March 26th, 1974, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Matthew set his course early toward the SEAL Teams. He completed Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training in June 2001 and reported to a West Coast SEAL team, going on to serve with SEAL Team 1 and SEAL Team 3 before transferring to an East Coast-based team in 2006 and later earning assignment to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group.

In 2004, during combat operations in Fallujah, Matthew suffered severe arm injuries and a collapsed lung. He could have stepped away from combat duty. Instead, he pushed through his recovery with the same intensity he brought to every mission, completing a triathlon just five months after his injuries and returning to full operational status with his team. A family friend later remembered him simply: "He could have gotten out of combat. He just insisted on going back."

That insistence defined Matthew's career. He deployed again and again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, earning the trust of the men who served beside him and a reputation for refusing to let injury or hardship keep him from the fight.

Matthew made his home with his wife and their two sons, balancing the demands of fatherhood with a relentless devotion to his teammates. On August 6, 2011, Chief Mason was aboard the CH-47 Chinook helicopter callsign Extortion 17, part of a Naval Special Warfare quick reaction force responding to support U.S. Army Rangers engaged with insurgent forces in Wardak Province. When the helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, all 38 aboard were killed, the greatest single-incident loss of life in Naval Special Warfare history.

Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason met every setback with resolve and every recovery with a return to the fight. His courage in the face of injury and his devotion to his brothers in arms remain a lasting example of the warrior spirit.