Seth A. Stone *10

Seth Stone, a Navy commander who was among the most highly decorated Navy SEALs in Iraq, died Sept. 30, 2017, in a skydiving accident at age 41.

Stone graduated from the Naval Academy in 1999. He was deployed three times to Iraq and twice was awarded the Silver Star.

In 2006, Stone was a platoon commander in Iraq during the battle for Ramadi, one of the toughest sustained urban combat operations in SEAL team history. His platoon was important in the Army’s victory in turning Ramadi from the most violent and dangerous place in Iraq to a peaceful city, after more than six months of combat. He returned to Iraq two years later and led a SEAL task unit in a key battle in the Sadr City section of Baghdad.

Stone earned a master’s of public policy degree in 2010 from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. He was then deployed to Afghanistan. Later, at the Navy Special Warfare Center, he helped prepare the next generation of SEALs. His final duty station was with the Special Operations Command Pacific.

He is survived by his mother, Deborah Ann Varsel; his father, James Berlie Stone; one brother; and one sister.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.