Army mourns after body of Fort Jackson soldier is found off base

The U.S. Army said it mourned the loss of a soldier whose death is being investigated.

Sgt. 1st Class Greg Abbott, who was stationed at Fort Jackson, died recently, according to the Army.

Abbott, 55, of Columbia, was a member of the U.S. Army reserves, serving in the 345th Training Battalion, said William Ritter of the Fort Jackson reserves public affairs office.

Abbott’s death was confirmed by Anthony Taylor, a spokesman for the 85th Support Command. But Taylor said further information was not available because Abbott’s death is still under investigation.

Investigators said Abbott’s body was found July 22 in a vehicle in Manchester State Forest in Sumter County, and the sheriff’s office is involved with the investigation.

No cause of death has been made public, but an autopsy was scheduled Tuesday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, according to the Sumter County Coroner’s Office.

“The unit was deeply saddened to learn of the news of SFC Abbott,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth M. Attaway II, commander of 2-345^th Training Support Battalion, 85^th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command. “He was a vital part of our personnel team and always went out of his way to help soldiers in every day actions as well as preparing them for mobilizations. SFC Abbott was a dutiful soldier in a career that spanned across almost 30 years. This loss will be felt by all at our command. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this time.”

Fort Jackson is the nation’s largest military basic training base with more than 50,000 recruits assigned there each year.

This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 5:20 PM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription