Staff Sergeant Peter W Taub

United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Peter W. Taub, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, departed this life life, 21 December 2015, when a cowardly suicide bomber drove his explosive laden motorcycle and detonated himself into the a group of six airmen investigators, in Bagram Afghanistan. As agents and airmen they were conducting a patrol as part of an investigation. His current billet was as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which investigates felony-level crimes in the U.S. and overseas. He was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 816, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Peter grew up in Wyncote and graduated from Cheltenham High School in Montgomery County. Joel Taub remarked in speaking of his son, "He was a good kid. He was a good person, real good personality, he was funny, he was thoughtful. He was a really good family man, loved his wife, loved his daughter. In the Air Force, he found direction, discipline, and just became a real man. His stepmother, Donna added, "I loved Peter, I loved him very much. He was the son I never had."

His mother, Arlene Wagner and Taub's brother, Jonathan, a chef, run a popular sandwich shop, Bub and Pops, in downtown Washington. "I'm pretty devastated. It's really hard to talk about. Peter and his brother had plans for a farm and raising herbs and different things for expanding the restaurant or new concepts - lots of things that are not going to happen," She also commented she is heartbroken for the other five families who lost loved ones in the same attack.

Jonathan Taub, the brother of Sergeant Taub, said that he never expected his Peter to enlist in the military, thinking instead that he would design video games or write fantasy novels. Jonathon called his brother “a protector.” “He’s always been the type that, if two people were fighting, he would get in the middle and make them friends.”

Jeff Gallo, a longtime friend of the family, has set up a go fund me account for Peter's pregnant wife, Christina and their three year old daughter, Penelope to help defray the expenses they will face. Peter's father commenting on the God Fund me account said, "He realized that Pete's wife and daughter will probably need financial assistance. He took this upon himself to help them out." If you wish to contribute, go here:

https://www.gofundme.com/gnfz6sh9

Brigadier General Keith Givens, OSI commander further remarked; "The deaths of the four OSI agents make Monday's attack the deadliest day in our command's history."

"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season," Army Brig. Gen. William Shoffner, a spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, said in a statement.

In his released remarks, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called the attack "a painful reminder of the dangers our troops face every day in Afghanistan."

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on international forces there since August. Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the remaining 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, after international troops ended combat operations last year.

The suicide attack came just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the United States and NATO formally ending their combat mission in the country.

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