Highly-Decorated Green Beret Killed During Brave Attempt to Save Daughters From Fire
- Posted on March 7, 2012 at 9:30am by
Buck Sexton
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(The Blaze/AP)– He risked his life countless times in two wars for his country, but it was his valiant efforts to save his two young daughters from a house fire that took this Green Beret’s life.
Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell leaped from the second story of his North Carolina home, wrapped himself in a blanket and stormed back into the fire that was consuming his house.
Cantrell jumped into the inferno to save his 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia.
Tragically, he didn’t make it back out.
Firefighters found Cantrell’s body on the second floor of the home, not far from the bodies of his two young daughters.
According to Fox News.com:
“Cantrell, 36, was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2, which authorized Cantrell to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up. Records show Cantrell joined the Army in 1994, listing a home address in Plant City, Fla. He had one combat deployment to Iraq and five to Afghanistan, returning from the last mission in August.”
Cantrell’s record included four Bronze Stars and one Purple Heart, awarded for wounds suffered in a war zone, according to an Army Special Operations Command spokesman.
Cantrell was born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and joined the Army as a military policeman. He served in South Korea, Bosnia and Italy before earning his Green Beret in 2004 at Fort Bragg and buying his family home in Hope Mills, North Carolina.
Cantrell’s wife, Louise, survived.
Cantrell’s Command wrote on Facebook that: “There are no words to express the sorrow felt in our close-knit community when a family suffers such a tragedy,”
A charity is collecting donations through the Army Special Operations Command’s Facebook page.
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B-Neil
Posted on March 8, 2012 at 11:09amGod Bless you Sir. Carry on; you and your daughters are in my prayers. GOD BLESS AMERICA and INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 7:39pmOh, please God, rain down your mercy on this brave man’s wife & the mother of his children. Comfort her with your unending love. Hold him & his 2 precious little girls in your arms. This is so heartbreaking.
Report Post »lowbird
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 5:59pmSir, you are a hero to us all for your service to our country and you are a hero to all of us who are parents, fathers, for your ultimate sacrifice for your beautiful little girls. I can’t imagine the horror of seing my home on fire and knowing my 4 year old daughter was still inside. I pray for peace and comfort for the Cantrell family.
Report Post »dutchy
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 2:38pmMay God comfort this family in this time of deep sorrow. May God somehow turn this tragedy into a blessing.
Report Post »JFPoe
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 2:31pmWe have lost a giant of a man and his two little angels. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife.
De Opresso Liber
Report Post »leonardo44
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 2:30pmSorry to lose this brave American hero and his beautiful family. My prayers go to his wife at this most tragic time.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 3:21pmThis is such a sad and tragic story.This is what it means to me to be a hero. What a beautiful photo of the three who lost their lives. This is the kind of man that makes me proud to be an American. This is what enlightens me to type of person that it takes to VOLUNTEER for our military. This is why it angers me when anyone puts our military down. God Bless this wonderful man for his service and dedication to his family and his country. He is a true American. My prayers go out to his wife and family. I could not help but cry when I saw this photo.
Report Post »ScreaminEagle
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 2:04pmGod Speed Edward Isabella and Natalia. The world is a lesser place today.
Report Post »Couyon64
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 1:28pmMay God Bless this family. He is an American hero and a fine example to all men and fathers.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 1:15pmWhat a sad story. May God Bless this man, this selfless hero and his daughters. You are in God’s capable hands. Your wife along with your extended family are in in my prayers today.
Report Post »P8riot
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:54pmWhat a true hero to his country and his daughters.
John 15:13
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
This man laid down his life for his daughters; there is no greater love. I’m sure they are all very happy together right now.
Report Post »The_Jerk
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:25pmThis is when I ask my faith, “What God would do this?”
Report Post »morningbird1
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:59pmLet us not forget that this world has been given over to the Prince off Darkness, he alone causes death, destruction and tragedy. The amazing thing about God is through tragedy, His glory can, and will be reflected. The difficult aspect for us is not knowing how, why or when. It may be decades from now or not until this physical life ends before we know why this tragedy occurred, like so many thousands more throughout the centuries. But lets not forget or wander from the truth that, death, tragedy and fear are not of God but the Evil one who, for the time being, rules the kingdoms of this world. There will be redemption, keep faith
Report Post »creativ31
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 1:00pmYou’re blaming God for a house fire?
What else do you blame Him for?
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 1:08pmYour faith is not large enough, for your god is too small.
God did not make this happen. It is not part of His active will to see lives destroyed. His passive will permits these kinds of things to happen since we live in a broken and dying world. Bad things happen to good people. And my God can work with that when and only when I turned it (the bad things) over to Him.
I pray that the Chief Warrant Officer was alive in Christ before the fire. If he was, he remains alive in Christ now and forever more.
May the Lord Jesus grant his widow strength to endure the days of sorrow ahead. On the Day of Resurrection, may she be found alive in Him.
Report Post »TheGrayrider
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:16pmI am proud to have known him.
Report Post »cydog
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:03pmMay “The Lord Bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace”
This old former SF guy sheds tears of sadness.
Report Post »CATALYST
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:56amI have two little girls about the same age and imagining what he went through trying to save them has crushed my soul. Father in heaven, please comfort their family and friends.
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:49amCharacter is what sets us apart. May God bless and comfort his family. RIP
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:40amPlease everyone, go and hug and kiss your children and spouses. Tell them right now how much you love them. Call your parents and tell them how grateful you are to have them your true friends as well. Anyone you care about, make a list and make sure you tell each of them what they mean to you. In a blink of an eye your whole life can be turned upside down. Just as the tornado victims can tell you, this wife and mother can tell you, anyone who has lost someone suddenly. One moment things are normal and fine and good and the next breath can change EVERYTHING. Don‘t think it can’t happen to you. Please hug your kids and your spouse and your kin while you can.
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:34amGod please bless and comfort this mother and widow. Give her the peace that passes all understanding and the comfort of knowing that they are in your safe hands now. Her grief must be unimaginable and dark beyond all understanding but please reach through it to hold her up Father. My heart aches as the wife of a great man and the mother of two daughters that were once these exact ages and same age differences. Hold her in your arms dear Jesus and give her comfort and rest in you. How awful for her. My heart hurts for her truly.
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 12:11pmSo beautifully put. Amen
Report Post »Richard Peck
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:32amGod bless him and his little girls you know they are in heaven together.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:11amNY and LA preach every day that men are stupid and fathers are unnecessary in the home. In the real world, true men like Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell understand that there are some things more valuable than life itself.
May God have mercy on this family.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:09am.
Report Post »Only a Fathers Love………………
Jenny Lind
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:05amGod bless and keep this family, I can’t even imagine the pain this wife and mother is going through. How sad, and how brave to try and save his babies.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on March 7, 2012 at 11:03amSad…
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