Army Identifies 2 Soldiers Killed By Fallen Tree In Georgia Storm

FORT BENNING, GA — The two U.S. Army Ranger candidates based at Fort Benning who were killed Tuesday in north Georgia died as a result of a fallen tree in a thunderstorm, according to U.S. Army officials.

Second Lieutenant Evan Fitzgibbon and Staff Sergeant George Taber were among five soldiers taking shelter from the storm when a tree fell on them around 3:15 p.m. on Yonah Mountain near Dahlonega, officials said. The soldiers were participating in a training program with the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence.

The five soldiers were treated by U.S. Army medics and taken to a local hospital, where Fitzgibbon and Taber later died. Of the three injured, two were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and the other remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to officials.

"We are all deeply saddened by the loss of these two outstanding Soldiers and send our heartfelt condolences to their families," Major General Curtis Buzzard, commanding general at Fort Benning and the Maneuver Center, said in a statement. "They are in our thoughts and prayers."

Fitzgibbon was an infantry officer commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in May 2021 assigned to the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course, 199th Leader Brigade at Fort Benning.

Taber enlisted in March 2017 and was a special forces medical sergeant with the 7th Special Forces Group, an Army airborne unit, at Eglin Air Force Base.

Yonah Mountain is a training area for the mountain phase of the Army's Ranger School, the second of three phases in the program.

The National Weather Service Atlanta office issued a severe thunderstorm warning in the Yonah Mountain area Tuesday afternoon. The warning included a possibility of quarter-size hail and winds up to 60 mph.

Yonah Mountain is located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service did not return an inquiry from Patch.