Henry Mayfield Jr, a United Stated army specialist was among those killed during an attack on a Manda Bay military base on Sunday, January 5, his family has confirmed.
The mother of the 23-year-old service member, Carmoneta Horton-Mayfield, spoke to American news outlet NBC Chicago where she revealed her last communication with her son was on January 1.
Carmoneta stated that they were still coming to terms with the demise of her son, confirming that military officials had reached out to them Sunday afternoon to report that their son had been killed in action.
"He loved his family and spending quality time with his siblings," she was quoted by the news outlet.
"I last spoke with him New Year’s Day via FaceTime. We discussed him not having to go to Somalia and he told me everything was good and safe at his base.
"He told me everything would be okay. Those were his last words to me," she stated.
The Chicago Hazel Crest resident had joined the army in June 2018 after graduating from Hillcrest High school and had even attended Northern Illinois University.
After the news broke out, friends sent their condolence messages to the family with Carmoneta taking time to respond to them.
"Thank you to all that have reached out to my husband and me with your touching words regarding the loss of our son Army Specialist Henry Mayfield Jr. We may not be able to respond to them all at this but we feel the love and we appreciate you all. Please keep our family in prayer," she posted on her Facebook account.
On Monday, January 6, the US Africa Command, a military wing responsible for military relations with nations and regional organisations in Africa, confirmed those who succumbed included one US service member and two Department of Defence (DoD) contractors.
Two other DoD contractors who were injured in the attack had been evacuated.