Ronald Joseph Shurer II[1] (December 7, 1978 – May 14, 2020) was a United States Army Special Forces staff sergeant and medic.

[5][6] At that point Shurer planned to enlist in the United States Marine Corps and was initially accepted into the Officer Candidate School but was later rejected when it was found he had pancreatitis caused by trauma from an earlier bicycle accident.

He helped evacuate the wounded back down the mountain to a medevac helicopter, at times using his body as a shield against debris being dislodged from the cliff by the firefight.

As the assault element moved up a near vertical mountain toward its objective, it was engaged by fierce enemy machine gun, sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

Staff Sergeant Shurer and the rest of the trailing portion of the assault element were likewise engaged by enemy machine gun, sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

Finishing those lifesaving efforts, Staff Sergeant Shurer noticed two additional severely wounded Soldiers under intense enemy fire.

With complete disregard for his own life, Staff Sergeant Shurer again moved through enemy fire to treat and stabilize one Soldier’s severely wounded arm.

Shortly thereafter, Staff Sergeant Shurer continued to brave withering enemy fire to get to the other Soldier’s location in order to treat his lower leg, which had been almost completely severed by a high-caliber sniper round.

While moving down the mountain, Staff Sergeant Shurer used his own body to shield the wounded from enemy fire and debris caused by danger-close air strikes.

Reaching the base of the mountain, Staff Sergeant Shurer set up a casualty collection point and continued to treat the wounded.