SOC US Navy
He died in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.
Petty Officer 1st Class Vaughn was raised in Obion County in Tenn. His family moved to Florida when he was a high school sophomore, but he returned to Obion County his senior year and graduated in 1999 from Obion County Central High School, where he played football. He went to college for a couple of years in Florida and joined the U.S. Navy at age 20. He began SEAL training right after boot camp. Vaughn had been all over the world as a Navy SEAL and had been on Middle East missions in Iraq and Afghanistan other times in the past. He earned numerous medals, including the Medal of Valor for his first deployment to Iraq, when he went in advance of the rest of his team to set up communications and the operation. The Vaughns are a tight-knit Christian family who are relying on their faith in God to carry them through the days ahead. Aaron was a man of deep faith, insisting to his family that he didn't fear his job as a Navy SEAL "because he knew where he was going" when he died. "Aaron was a Christian and he's with Jesus today," Geneva Vaughn said. "He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn't afraid; he said, 'Granny, don't worry about me.'" "He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man." Mrs Vaughn said her grandson joined the SEALS straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010. He asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed, Vaughn said. "He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior," Geneva Vaughn said.
He was survived by his wife; a son; and a daughter.
Interment on August 26, 2011.
He died in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.
Petty Officer 1st Class Vaughn was raised in Obion County in Tenn. His family moved to Florida when he was a high school sophomore, but he returned to Obion County his senior year and graduated in 1999 from Obion County Central High School, where he played football. He went to college for a couple of years in Florida and joined the U.S. Navy at age 20. He began SEAL training right after boot camp. Vaughn had been all over the world as a Navy SEAL and had been on Middle East missions in Iraq and Afghanistan other times in the past. He earned numerous medals, including the Medal of Valor for his first deployment to Iraq, when he went in advance of the rest of his team to set up communications and the operation. The Vaughns are a tight-knit Christian family who are relying on their faith in God to carry them through the days ahead. Aaron was a man of deep faith, insisting to his family that he didn't fear his job as a Navy SEAL "because he knew where he was going" when he died. "Aaron was a Christian and he's with Jesus today," Geneva Vaughn said. "He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn't afraid; he said, 'Granny, don't worry about me.'" "He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man." Mrs Vaughn said her grandson joined the SEALS straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010. He asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed, Vaughn said. "He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior," Geneva Vaughn said.
He was survived by his wife; a son; and a daughter.
Interment on August 26, 2011.
SOC US Navy
He died in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.
Petty Officer 1st Class Vaughn was raised in Obion County in Tenn. His family moved to Florida when he was a high school sophomore, but he returned to Obion County his senior year and graduated in 1999 from Obion County Central High School, where he played football. He went to college for a couple of years in Florida and joined the U.S. Navy at age 20. He began SEAL training right after boot camp. Vaughn had been all over the world as a Navy SEAL and had been on Middle East missions in Iraq and Afghanistan other times in the past. He earned numerous medals, including the Medal of Valor for his first deployment to Iraq, when he went in advance of the rest of his team to set up communications and the operation. The Vaughns are a tight-knit Christian family who are relying on their faith in God to carry them through the days ahead. Aaron was a man of deep faith, insisting to his family that he didn't fear his job as a Navy SEAL "because he knew where he was going" when he died. "Aaron was a Christian and he's with Jesus today," Geneva Vaughn said. "He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn't afraid; he said, 'Granny, don't worry about me.'" "He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man." Mrs Vaughn said her grandson joined the SEALS straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010. He asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed, Vaughn said. "He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior," Geneva Vaughn said.
He was survived by his wife; a son; and a daughter.
Interment on August 26, 2011.
He died in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.
Petty Officer 1st Class Vaughn was raised in Obion County in Tenn. His family moved to Florida when he was a high school sophomore, but he returned to Obion County his senior year and graduated in 1999 from Obion County Central High School, where he played football. He went to college for a couple of years in Florida and joined the U.S. Navy at age 20. He began SEAL training right after boot camp. Vaughn had been all over the world as a Navy SEAL and had been on Middle East missions in Iraq and Afghanistan other times in the past. He earned numerous medals, including the Medal of Valor for his first deployment to Iraq, when he went in advance of the rest of his team to set up communications and the operation. The Vaughns are a tight-knit Christian family who are relying on their faith in God to carry them through the days ahead. Aaron was a man of deep faith, insisting to his family that he didn't fear his job as a Navy SEAL "because he knew where he was going" when he died. "Aaron was a Christian and he's with Jesus today," Geneva Vaughn said. "He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn't afraid; he said, 'Granny, don't worry about me.'" "He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man." Mrs Vaughn said her grandson joined the SEALS straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010. He asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed, Vaughn said. "He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior," Geneva Vaughn said.
He was survived by his wife; a son; and a daughter.
Interment on August 26, 2011.
