MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia National Guard has identified Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Sheperty, 36, as the soldier who died during a training accident in Kingwood.
Sheperty was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Kingwood, according to a press release from the National Guard.
He suffered fatal injuries while involved in an airborne operations training exercise Wednesday afternoon around 1:45 p.m.
“This is an extremely sad day for West Virginia. We owe everything we have to the men and women who step up and make sacrifices to protect our country’s freedom. Cathy and I are praying for Nick’s family and the entire National Guard family, and we ask all West Virginians to join with us,” said Gov. Jim Justice. “We will do everything we can to provide support to his family and will never forget his service and sacrifice to this great State and our Nation.”
Sgt. 1st Class Sheperty was a member of the elite Green Berets and served as a Senior Weapons Sergeant with the 2/19th SFG (Airborne).
He joined the West Virginia Army National Guard in 2010.
An investigation to determine the cause of the accident is ongoing.