Governor Orders Flags To Half Staff To Honor Edgewood Soldier Wednesday

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered the United States and Maryland flags to be lowered to half staff Wednesday, May 10 to honor a Maryland soldier who died in Afghanistan while serving in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, 37, of Edgewood died April 8 in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during counter-ISIS operations, according to the Department of Defense.

De Alencar was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

According to a post on the Joppatowne High School Alumni page, first reported by the Baltimore Sun, De Alencar was a 1998 graduate of the school and leaves behind a wife and five children.

De Alencar enlisted in 2009 and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2016. His father was an Army veteran.

Through out his time serving, De Alencar received a Purple Heart, five Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Special Forces tab, the Ranger tab, the Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.

Photo: U.S. Army