04/15/2026
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SGT, Tanner Higgins, 23, of Yantis, Texas, was killed in combat by enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Logar Province, Afghanistan, while serving with the D Co, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was leading an assault against an enemy compound when he was mortally wounded by small arms fire. He was on his fifth deployment, having previously deployed to Afghanistan three times and Iraq once.
Tanner grew up dreaming of being a soldier. “We’d be camping and he’d put his camos on and paint his face up. We would be sitting around the campfire and he’d get real low, crawling through the woods, sneaking up on us,” said his father, Danny Higgins. “He wanted to be in the Army and he wanted to be the best,” said his grandfather, Gerald Higgins, recalling one exercise his grandson finished despite having several broken toes.
Tanner proposed to his girlfriend and married her in October 2011. The Army beckoned Tanner yet again, deploying him on his fifth combat tour. Being at war had changed him. “It taught me I wasn’t nearly as tough as I acted, but that I was a lot tougher than I thought,” Tanner was quoted saying.
The Tanner Higgins Warrior Run was established in 2013. Many, especially his service “brothers”, bring their children who are named in honor of Higgins to meet Tanner’s family and other brothers’ namesake. As of 2019, there were 18 ‘namesake babies’ among the Higgins’ family of brothers all across the country to the delight of Tanner’s mom.
He was survived by his wife, brothers and parents. Tanner’s brothers would each follow in his footsteps by serving in the Army.
Reference(s):
https://rangersremembered.com/portfolio/sgt-tanner-higgins/
https://arits.org/biographies/365-sgt-tanner-higgins; https://www.americanfallensoldiers.com/.../army-sgt...)