1Lt Kenneth Michael Ballard

2/37 Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Division
US Army

1Lt Ballard's Act of Heroism

Ken served in Iraq as a Tank Commander for 384 days, earning 3 Bronze Stars, 2 with Valor and the Purple Heart.

He and his men were in battle every single day in May 2004. His mission was to bring his men home safely. Just before midnight on May 30, 2004, 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed in battle, by the accidental discharge of the M240 machine gun on his M1A1 Abrams tank.

5 weeks later his men all returned home safely to their families. Ken's mission was complete.

My Hero

As a single mother raising Ken on my own, he was always my hero with the way he made his journey through life with a smile on his face and a sense of adventure.

Ken joined the Army in 1995, becoming the 4th generation to serve in the military. Ken served for 3 years as an enlisted soldier serving in Bosnia, Macedonia and Germany. He then applied for and was awarded the Green to Gold Scholarship and attended Middle Tennessee State University. He graduated and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in May 2002 and became the 4th generation of Army officers. He was sent to Iraq in May 2003.