2nd Ranger Battalion (United States) - Notable 2nd Battalion Alumni

Notable 2nd Battalion Alumni

• Specialist Tim Abell, television and movie actor; served in Charlie Company 2/75 as an enlisted man in 1976–1977.
• First Lieutenant John P. Abizaid served as a Platoon leader 1975–1976 in Alpha Company and later as the XO of Charlie Company from 1976 to 1977. He went on to command Central Command in the second Gulf War, taking over from General Tommy Franks. His change in intelligence methods lead to the capture of Saddam Hussein. He retired as a General.
• Lieutenant General David Barno, commanded 2nd Ranger Battalion from 1993 to 1994. Later became Commander, Military Operations-Afghanistan.
• Lieutenant Colonel Wayne A. Downing was the third Battalion Commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, and eventually commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment, and Special Operations Command. He retired as a General.
• Command Sergeant Major Frank Grippe, served for many years in the battalion and was latter the CSM of Central Command.
• Captain Gerald Heaney, WWII, landed at Normandy on the early hours of D-Day, Heaney was one of only three still on the front lines with the Rangers on VE Day. He served for nearly forty years as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
• Captain Robert L. Howard was nominated for three Medals of Honor for his actions in Vietnam. Two were downgraded, and he did earn one. Howard commanded Alpha Company from approximately 1975–1977. Howard was later inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.
• Sergeant First Class Matt Larsen, father of the Modern Army Combatives system, founder of the United States Army Combatives School.
• Second Lieutenant Leonard Lomell, served as platoon leader during the D-Day landings. Was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.
• Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry, Medal of Honor recipient in the War in Afghanistan
• Colonel James Earl Rudder, commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion during World War II, later major general USAR and president of Texas A&M University, led the Ranger assault on Pointe du Hoc on D-Day.
• Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, Medal of Honor recipient sniper who was killed during the Battle of Mogadishu.
• Corporal Pat Tillman, an American football player who left his NFL career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002 and was killed on 22 April 2004.
• Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, awarded the Silver Star during Operation Urgent Fury, the first Silver Star awarded since Vietnam, after rescuing fellow Rangers from a downed aircraft while under direct enemy fire. Trujillo was the guest of President Ronald Reagan at the 1984 State of the Union Address.
• General Stanley McCrystal, commanded 2nd Ranger Bat from 94 to 96, later went on to Command US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan
• Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger served as a platoon sergeant in B company circa 1981. He was the last active duty enlisted soldier draftee left in the United States military when he retired on 31 December 2011.
• SSG Sean Keough, awarded the Silver Star for his actions during a raid on a Taliban compound on October 7, 2011. During the raid several wounded Rangers became trapped in an alleyway. Keough positioned himself between the wounded Rangers and a charging insurgent, sustaining a gunshot wound in the process. Keough refused evacuation and stayed in the battle for an additional 9-hours.