Steven Lipscomb in his military basic training graduation photo at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in late May 2002. Lipscomb, a Marine Corps veteran who was wounded in Iraq in 2024, died Nov. 8, 2025, while looking after the safety of his crew at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County, W.Va. (Heather Lipscomb)
A Marine Corps combat veteran who died while trying to rescue fellow coal miners from floodwaters will receive one more round of tributes Saturday at a memorial service in his West Virginia hometown.
Steven Lipscomb was overseeing a crew of 17 at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County, W. Va., on Nov. 8 when water started rushing in, a Pentagon statement said.
He took charge of evacuation efforts. Lipscomb was the only member of the crew who didn’t make it out of the mine. His body was recovered after a dayslong recovery effort that saw rescuers working around the clock, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.
The Saturday memorial service will be held at Lipscomb’s alma mater, Herbert Hoover High School, in Elkview, W. Va.
Lipscomb joined the Marine Corps as a rifleman shortly after the 9/11 attacks and participated in the first Battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004, according to his obituary. He was severely injured there seven days later when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb.
After recovering abroad, he was honorably discharged from the service with a Purple Heart and returned home to West Virginia, where he married his wife, Heather, and raised two daughters.
Steven M. Lipscomb, a Marine Corps veteran, and his wife Heather vacation at Myrtle Beach, S.C., in July 2024. Lipscomb died Nov. 8, 2025, while looking after the safety of his crew at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County, W.Va. (Heather Lipscomb)
In a Nov. 14 proclamation, Morrisey praised Lipscomb as “a courageous man” and ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff.
“He spent his final moments ensuring his men could escape to safety,” the West Virginia governor said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also praised Lipscomb, saying he represented “the best of our American military” and embodied “the hero spirit.”
Fellow Marine veteran Vice President JD Vance wrote an X post in which he called Lipscomb a “great American.”
He is survived by his wife and two daughters, 13 and 17, as well as a sister, brother and sister-in-law.
