U.S. Army Sgt. Breonna Moffett, who tragically lost her life in Jordan on Jan. 28, 2024, while serving as a horizontal construction engineer with the 718th Engineer Company, was memorialized at a ceremony at Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia on Feb. 17, 2024.

Moffett enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on April 29, 2019 at the age of 17. She was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with “C” Device, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Devive, Army Service Ribbon, and a Combat Action Badge.

Moffett was mourned by numerous family members and friends, including members of her church community where she was an active volunteer. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Noel Palmer, Deputy Commanding General of the 412th Theater Engineer Command spoke during the ceremony as well as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chester Ellis, Georgia State Representative Carl Gilliard, and City of Savannah Mayor Van Johnson. There were also representatives of the Georgia State Patrol and local veteran organizations who posted outside of the church with American flags prior to the start of the ceremony, and trailed the motorcade via motorcycle procession as Moffett’s remains departed the church.

Moffett was a graduate of Windsor Forest High School and was remembered as a natural-born leader serving as both the marching band drum major and a member of the JROTC program. During the memorial ceremony, Moffett’s close high school comrade Jonathan Lee lamented that she always encouraged him to speak up in class, nudging him to be more confident in participating.

Francine Moffett, Moffett’s mother, shared a memory of how as a very young child, Moffett taught herself how to take care of her younger sibling by changing her diaper and giving her a bottle before her parents woke up for the morning. “She’s always been a momma figure. I always knew that she would just be ‘Breonna’, and be strong willed.”

Brig. Gen Palmer imparted that being a Soldier takes more than honoring the oath of enlistment. “We want Soldiers to be balanced, to find balance that keeps a healthy family life and a healthy spiritual life. Here in particular Sgt. Moffett was an example to us all,” he remarked. “She showed us how to prioritize and commit to her family and her faith even while deployed.”

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Gupton who recruited Moffett to join the Army Reserve shared that he witnessed her transformation from student to Soldier and is extremely proud of the legacy that she has left. “Before she decided to raise her right hand and serve, she was already a natural leader…She had the distinct ability to lead her peers, lead in any social situation she had, and she made people feel seen and heard.”

“Even before she served (in the Army), she had been serving.”

Moffett was interred at a private ceremony in Bay Springs, Mississippi, Wednesday.