Army Reserve identifies soldier who died of COVID-19
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Sgt. Simon Zamudio at this time
The Army Reserve has identified the soldier who is the third service member to die from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as Sgt. Simon Zamudio.
Zamudio was not active orders when he died of complications related to the coronavirus on May 22, said Army Reserve spokesman Lt. Col. Simon Flake.
No further information about Zamudio’s death was immediately available.
“[Zamudio] enlisted in the Army Reserve in October 2015, and was assigned to the 371st Theater Movement Control Element at Fort Sheridan, Illinois,” an Army Reserve statement says. “Sgt. Zamudio was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on April 1, 2020 and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.”
Two other service members have died as a result of the coronavirus: Army Capt. Douglas Linn Hickok, of the New Jersey National Guard; and Navy Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker, who served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Additionally, 18 Defense Department civilians, nine contractors, and five dependents have died from the coronavirus for a total of 35 U.S. military fatalities.
As of May 27, the U.S. military had reported a total of 9,276 cases of the coronavirus across the Defense Department, of which 5,161 people have recovered.
The Navy remains the military branch hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak with 2,384 cases, nearly twice as much as the Army with 1,339 cases.
They are followed by the National Guard Bureau with 1,284 cases, the Marine Corps with 547 cases, and the Air Force with 483 cases, according to the Defense Department.
