Honoring Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks
Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks gave his life in service to his country on August 16, 2012, when the Black Hawk helicopter on which he was operating crashed northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was 28 years old. In remembering Patrick, we recall not only the circumstances of his death but the character and commitment that defined his life.
Born and raised in Maryland, Patrick was drawn to challenge from an early age. Friends and family remember him as an athlete, a loyal companion, and a person with a quiet intensity — someone who preferred action over attention and measured his worth by the service he provided others. That same drive led him into the United States Navy and ultimately to the SEAL community.
Becoming a Navy SEAL requires extraordinary physical ability, mental toughness, and relentless determination. Patrick endured the rigors of training and emerged as a professional who embodied the core values of the SEAL teams: honor, courage, and commitment. He carried the Trident not as a decoration but as a responsibility, placing duty to country and to his teammates above personal recognition.
- Commitment: unwavering dedication to his teammates and mission.
- Leadership: steady presence under pressure, trusted by fellow SEALs.
- Humility: preferred quiet competence to public applause.
- Service: believed deeply in protecting others and defending freedom.
On that August operation in 2012, Patrick and his team were performing their duties in a dangerous environment. The crash of the Black Hawk ended a life defined by service and left a profound loss for his family, his friends, and the SEAL brotherhood. The ripples of that loss were felt from his hometown to the units with which he served.
Patrick’s mother described him as ‘the kind of person who loved deeply, worked hard, and laughed often.’ Those who served with him remember his calm under fire, his quiet humor, and the reliability that made him someone others could depend on without hesitation.
Comrades who stood beside Patrick often recall small but telling moments: the way he could steady a team in chaos, the understated jokes that eased tension, and the willingness to share risk rather than ask others to shoulder it alone. These are the marks of a professional and of a friend — traits that cannot be measured by medals alone.
Patrick’s final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery is a reminder of the cost of freedom and the debt owed to those who serve. While monuments and headstones provide a place to visit and reflect, his true legacy lives on in people: the family he loved, the teammates he trusted, and the civilians whose lives are safer because of men and women like him.
Each year on August 16th, those who knew Patrick and those who honor the service of fallen warriors pause to remember. Observance can take many forms, from visiting a memorial or grave to supporting military families and veteran organizations. Practical actions keep a legacy alive.
- Support surviving family members and military charities focused on fallen service members.
- Attend or observe memorial events on anniversaries and national remembrance days.
- Teach younger generations about the responsibilities and sacrifices that accompany service.
- Share stories of the fallen to ensure their lives are not reduced to a date or headline.
Patrick Feeks asked to be remembered not for the deeds he performed but for the person he was. That request captures the essence of his life: a man who found meaning through service, friendship, and family. Remembering him means more than recounting the events of one day; it means reflecting on the values he lived by and choosing to honor those values in how we act, support one another, and protect the freedoms he defended.
He was a warrior, a teammate, a son, and a husband. Though his time was cut tragically short, the example he set continues to inspire those who knew him and those who learn his story. Rest easy, Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks. Your sacrifice remains a solemn reminder that freedom is defended by people willing to give everything for others.
KIA – August 16, 2012. Gone but never forgotten.
