Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter was born on 26 December 1978, at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, to John and Gloria Clodfelter. He attended Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 25 June 1997.

Clodfelter attended Basic Training and Hull Maintenance Technician “A” and “C” schools in Great Lakes, Illinois. He reported to USS Cole (DDG-67) on 27 March 1998.

Clodfelter was killed in the line of duty when a terrorist bomb was detonated along the port side of the ship while it was refueling in Aden, Yemen, on 12 October 2000.

Petty Officer Clodfelter was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, and the rank of Hull Maintenance Technician Second Class. He held the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Sources: USS Cole (DDG-67) Med Cruise 2000 (August 8–November 3, 2000) Cruise Book in the collection of the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Navy Department Library. Awards and citations are sourced from the service member’s official military personnel file and listed in the Navy Department Awards Web Service site and may not be complete.

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/modern-ships/uss-cole/cole-in-memoriam.html#clodfelter

KENNETH E CLODFELTER

Service

HT2

Resting Place

Mementos

Tributes

Word Cloud

undefined

Milestones

Mementos

Historical Documents

Veteran programs and services

More VA resources

Get VA updates

In crisis? Get help now

Contact us