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Army IDs soldier swept away in Afghan river

The soldier who remains unaccounted for after being swept away by a river in Afghanistan on Nov. 4, was identified Wednesday by the Defense Department as Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va.

He and a fellow soldier, Spc. Benjamin Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Mass., were on a resupply mission Nov. 4, in Bala Murghab when they were swept away by the river as they tried to recover airdropped supplies that had accidentally fallen into the water.

Military divers found Sherman’s body a week after the two disappeared.

The Army declared Islip as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown, or DUSTWUN.

Both soldiers were assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Sherman’s relatives said they believe he died after jumping into the river to try to save Islip.

Sherman’s wife, Patricia, said military officials told her that the circumstances of his death remain under investigation, but his family believes Sherman died trying to rescue his friend.

“I know that day he jumped into the river to try to save his comrade because he didn’t just see another soldier in the water, he saw his brother,” his sister Meredith said in a statement. “He didn’t jump in because he was trained to, but because that’s what his heart told him to do.”