US soldier dies from injuries sustained during Gaza pier mission

Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley was injured in May. He had recently retired and was being treated at a long-term medical care facility before his death.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, a recently retired motor carrier previously assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. Stanley was injured while supporting the mission that provided humanitarian aid to Gaza in May 2024 and received treatment at a long-term care medical center,” said Cpt. Shkeila Milford-Glover said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

An obituary for him said he was 23 years old when he died last Thursday, October 31. Less than a week earlier, on Oct. 25, he had been medically retired from the Army, according to a spokeswoman for the XVIII Airborne Corps.

“Sgt. Quandarius Stanley was an instrumental and respected frontline leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary (TBX), especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. We will continue to support his family during this difficult time,” said Col. John “Eddie” Gray, 7th TBX commander. “Our entire unit mourns along with his family.”

Three American soldiers were injured during work on the temporary pier that was operational for a few weeks earlier this year. Stanley was the most seriously injured – the other two were not seriously injured – and was initially treated in an Israeli hospital before being taken to the United States, where he continued to receive medical care. None of their injuries were sustained during the battle.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said June 7 that a “critically injured” soldier was evacuated to Brooke Army Medical Center, “where he remains in critical conditions.” He then told reporters on July 17: “Two of them had very minor, minor injuries that were essentially no problem. The third person, a soldier, is in San Antonio and he remains hospitalized in San Antonio. He is no longer in critical condition, but I think further details on that would be inappropriate.”

President Joe Biden announced during his latest State of the Union address his decision to let the US military build a temporary pier to help the humanitarian situation in Gaza resulting from the Israeli-Hamas war. While the United States moved aid from Cyprus to Gaza via the maritime route, the effort was marred by being rendered unusable in several cases due to bad weather.

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The pier was only operational for about three weeks, even though it was operational from mid-May to mid-July. It was damaged during bad weather while in transit, forcing it to go offline for several days for repairs. Afterwards, the army decided it was better off to deconstruct it and bring it ashore to avoid damage during bad weather.

The mission required approximately 1,000 American soldiers.