Army identifies Special Forces soldier found dead at Fort Bragg

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The Army identified Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II as one of two people found dead in a Fort Bragg training area on Wednesday afternoon.

Lavigne was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Army Special Operations Command, the Army wrote in a press release on Friday.

The other person was a veteran who previously served at Fort Bragg, the Army wrote. The incident is being investigated by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command.

The deaths come a week after an airman and a soldier were found dead at Joint Base San Antonio in a separate incident.

“The loss of a Soldier is always tragic,” said Lt. Col. Justin Duvall, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company. “Master Sgt. Lavigne dedicated himself to the Army for 19 years and deployed multiple times in the defense of our Nation. Our condolences go out to his family during this difficult time.”

Lavigne, 37, enlisted in the Army in 2001. Six years later, he graduated the Special Forces Qualification Course and joined the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). He deployed multiple times to Afghanistan and Iraq while assigned to Army Special Operations Command.

Among the soldier’s many awards and decorations are the Bronze Star Medal with V device; Bronze Star Medal (second award); Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal (second award); Army Achievement Medal (third award); and Joint Service Achievement Medal.

David Roza Avatar

David Roza

Former Staff Reporter

David covered the Air Force, Space Force, and anything Star Wars-related for Task & Purpose from 2019 to 2023. He previously covered local news in Maine and FDA policy in Washington D.C. David loves hearing the stories of individual airmen and their families and sharing the human side of America’s most tech-heavy military branch.