To Kill A Terrorist In Self Defense: The Matthew E. O'Neil Story

In the final episode O'Neil thanked U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Department of Defense and Colorado Springs Police Department. He also thanked former Lockheed Martin employee Steve Griffin, former USA Boxing official Dickie Wood, former football coach Carl Freyermuth, baseball coach Dwayne Follette, his parents and his brother. O'Neil re-emphasized that he killed in self defense and that the Iraq War was justified. The Iraq War started in 2003 and ended in 2011. Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein was executed by firing squad on December 30, 2006. O'Neil believes that the terrorist that he killed in Colorado Springs, Colorado was sponsored by Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Dickie Wood was the co-trainer of WBC heavyweight world boxing champion Oleg Maskaev from 2006 to 2008. O'Neil was a physical education student of Carl Freyermuth for four years at Plymouth North High School from 1990 to 1994. Freyermuth won the Eastern Massachusetts high school football state championship twice as a head coach in 1984 and 1989. Follette has coached Plymouth North High School's varsity baseball for over thirty years. O'Neil's incident with the terrorist is in many museums across New England, including Maine Military Museum and Learning Center, Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Military Museum, and Cape Cod Military Museum. His incident is the only cleared kill of a domestic terrorist in connection to Operation Southern Watch. The results of O'Neil's boxing matches were reported by journalist and writer John J. Raspanti in 2018. Raspanti wrote the article "You Only Live Once. Just Ask Matthew O'Neil" for the company Maxboxing. Raspanti co-authored the 2016 hardcover book Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy. The book Everipedia Boxing Archives has the results of O'Neil's boxing matches. That book is in the library of The International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Everipedia Boxing Archives is also located in the Moise Memorial Library (NM.) and Nevada Library Cooperative.

The Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Military Museum opened in August 2004. Its average annual visitor rate is over 8,500 people, resulting in the museum being hailed as the "biggest little military museum in the country" by former mayor of New Bedford, Scott Lang. The museum is part of the The Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Historical Association, Inc. It is a not-for-profit organization committed to assisting in the restoration, preservation and perpetuation of Fort Rodman and its surroundings. Its President is Bill Niedzwiedz.Some of the exhibits that are housed in the museum are a statue made by a German POW who was held at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod as well as artifacts recovered from area waters. The museum has photos and biographies of every local serviceman that was killed in the Vietnam War, including uniforms and personal items from some of those veterans. The Vietnam War room has an authentic Viet Cong uniform. Many of its volunteers are veterans and retired military personnel who provide an interesting and informative tour of the museum. Many different types of military guns and rifles are on display. There is a Civil War room, a World War I room, and a World War II display. Its website is www.forttaber.org.In 2009 construction began on a 1,800 square-foot addition to the museum which was made possible by a starting donation from the Bank of America. The addition increased the available area for the museum to display donated artifacts from the Revolutionary War, Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq War), Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan War). The museum is open Wednesday thru Sunday from 1:00PM to 4:00PM, and it is closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and Easter. It is located at 1000C S Rodney French Boulevard in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As of November 2025 Matthew E. O'Neil's picture and information are on display in the museum.

Cape Cod Military Museum is a museum that collects, preserves and displays military memorabilia, with an emphasis on educating young people and the community through displays, lectures and with oral histories. Its goal is to establish a permanent military library and archive. The museum's focus is military history concerning Southeastern Massachusetts. The museum was founded by Donald Ellis and Joe Yukna. The President of Cape Cod Military Museum is Joe Yukna. Yukna has done lectures for the museum, including lecturing Airmen on Camp Edwards. Its website is capecodmilitarymuseum.org. Yukna publishes a monthly bulletin disseminated via email giving subscribers periodic updates about the museum. It has had a display at Jonathan Bourne Historical Center. There is a long term plan for a permanent location for all of its artifacts, possibly at the Aptucxet Trading Post Museum in Bourne, Massachusetts. Cape Cod Military Museum is on Facebook. O'Neil's confirmed kill of the domestic terrorist is in the records department of the Cape Cod Military Museum. O'Neil is from Massachusetts. He was a member of the Air Force Martial Program on Schriever Air Force Base from 1997 to 2000. The base was renamed Schriever Space Force Base in 2021.

The incident between Senior Airman O'Neil and the terrorist took place at a business located off of a side street of North Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs. O'Neil has stated that he believes that the car he was driving may have been tailed to the business. He drove a 1998 Hyundai Accent GL Sedan. O'Neil's car had 4 doors and was red. He has stated that he had never seen the terrorist before. The entire incident lasted less than 10 minutes. O'Neil lived by himself at Devonshire Square Apartments in Colorado Springs from early November 1999 to July 31, 2000.

Operation Southern Watch was a military operation conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia had the mission of monitoring and controlling the airspace south of the 32nd Parallell and 33rd Parallell in southern and south-central Iraq during the period following the end of the 1991 Gulf War until the invasion of Iraq in 2003.The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on June 25, 1996, in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. A truck bomb detonated near the Khobar Towers housing complex. The bomb killed 19 U.S. service members and injured over 400 more. The complex housed coalition forces, primarily U.S. Air Force personnel involved in Operation Southern Watch. The bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131, an eight-story structure housing members of the U.S. Air Force's 4404th Wing (Provisional).

As of 2021, there are nearly 45,000 active duty troops in the Colorado Springs area. There are more than 100,000 veterans and thousands of reservists. The military and defense contractors supply more than 40% of the region's economy. Colorado Springs is home to the Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, Fort Carson Army Base, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Space Command, and Space Operations Command. It is the largest contingent of space service military installations which are responsible for intelligence gathering, space operations, and cyber missions. Colorado Springs is 70 miles south of Denver, Colorado.

Suzanne M. Vautrinot (1959-) is a retired U.S. Air Force Major General. She was commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron at the time Senior Airman (E-4) Matthew E. O'Neil killed a domestic terrorist. Vautrinot served on active duty United States Air Force from 1982 to 2013. Vautrinot graduated from Edison High School (California) in 1978. She was inducted into the Edison High School Hall of Fame in 2023. From April 29, 2011 to June 2013 she was the Commander of 24th Air Force; and Commander, Air Forces Cyber; and Commander, Air Force Network Operations, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. General Vautrinot was responsible for the Air Force's component numbered air force providing combatant commanders with trained and ready cyber forces which plan and conduct cyberspace operations. Twenty-fourth Air Force personnel extend, maintain and defend the Air Force portion of the Department of Defense global network. She directed the activities of three operational cyber wings, two headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, and one at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, as well as the 624th Operations Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Major General Vautrinot entered the Air Force as a commissioned officer after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1982. Since her retirement from the U.S. Air Force she has served on the board of directors of many companies, including Symantec Corporation, Ecolab Corporation, CSX Corporation, Wells Fargo and Parsons Corporation. She has earned tens of millions of dollars from those corporations. In 2024, The American College Center for Military and Veteran Affairs honored Suzanne Vautrinot with the 2024 Soldier-Citizen Award. As of 2025 she resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado with her husband U.S. Air Force Colonel (RET.) Bill Keller.

O'Neil killed a terrorist with a kung fu punch. A kung fu punch can refer to the general concept of punching techniques in the martial art of kung fu, or it can refer to a specific type of punch, such as the one-inch punch. Kung fu punches emphasize generating power through body mechanics and coordination, rather than relying solely on arm strength. 

At the age of 17, O'Neil scored 1180 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. He passed 30 credits at The University of Massachusetts Amherst as a teenager in 1994 and 1995. O'Neil graduated with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems Management from Colorado Christian University in 2001. He graduated with a M.B.A. from Regis University in 2004. In his mid-twenties he was employed by Harvard University. O'Neil was paid to work in business and was a top rated writer and journalist for the Santa Monica, California based company Everipedia Inc. from June 2019 to September 2022. He is the author of numerous books on Amazon. Everipedia Boxing Archives is authored by O'Neil and is in New Hampshire State Library, Seward (AK.) Community Library & Museum and Grant Library on Fort Carson. He is also the host of Everipedia Boxing Show which can be found on Amazon Music. Everipedia Inc. was rebranded IQ.wiki in 2022. It is an Internet encyclopedia and cryptocurrency company whose official cryptocurrency IQ is on numerous cryptocurrency exchanges. O'Neil has never been married. His biological son, Daniel Marshall, resides in Toronto, Canada. He was born when O'Neil was serving in the Individual Ready Reserve U.S. Air Force.

O'Neil is a former amateur boxer that competed in USA Boxing sanctioned matches in the late 1990's. He KO'd 1991, 1993 LSU National Baseball Champion Jeffrey Naquin on June 20, 1998. Naquin retained a full NCAA Division I athletic scholarship. Naquin signed sports memorabilia on Worthpoint and pictures of him playing baseball are for sale on eBay. O'Neil TKO'd 1997, 1999 US Armed Forces Superheavyweight Boxing Champion Preston Hartzog on October 8, 1999. Hartzog was a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program. Hartzog died in 2006. O'Neil's boxing matches occurred at 3D Boxing Gym in Colorado Springs. 3D Boxing Gym was owned by Dickie Wood. Wood was a USA Boxing official. Lockheed Martin provided facilitation for the matches. Preston Hartzog was Vitali Klitschko's primary paid sparring partner for the Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko professional boxing match that was contested for the WBC heavyweight world title on June 21, 2003 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Hartzog was interviewed by ESPN before the match. Lewis had defeated Mike Tyson in his previous fight. O'Neil's amateur boxing record is 2 wins and 0 losses (2 KO's). He is 5 feet 11 inches tall. 

At the time he was cleared O'Neil held an Associate of Applied Science degree in Information Technology from The Community College of the Air Force. He graduated on February 11, 1999. O'Neil's immediate commanding officer while stationed in the Middle East was Captain Dickey Rounsaville. O'Neil worked as a truck driver, base telephone operator, and computer network administrator as an Airman First Class and Senior Airman while a member of 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. O'Neil was stationed at Schriever Air Force Base at the time of the incident as a member of 11th Space Warning Squadron. Schriever Air Force Base was renamed Schriever Space Force Base in 2021. 11th Space Warning Squadron's Commander from December 1997 to July 2000 was Lt. Colonel Suzanne Vautrinot. He briefed a U.S. Air Force Captain and a Lockheed Martin employee about the incident. O'Neil entered active duty on August 28, 1996 and was honorably discharged from the active duty U.S. Air Force on August 27, 2000. He was honorably discharged from the Individual Ready Reserve U.S. Air Force on July 24, 2004. He entered the United States Armed Forces through MEPS Boston in the summer of 1996.O'Neil's Air Force Specialty Code was 3C051 Communications-Computer Systems Operator Journeyman. He helped install 11th Space Warning Squadron's computer network, including laying network cables and installing computer hardware and software for about 100 computers. O'Neil was ordered to the Schriever Air Force Base martial arts sensei in 1997. He was instructed in boxing, wrestling, and kung fu punching. He had been using the weight training and boxing room in the basement of the Joint National Test Facility on Schriever Air Force Base regularly in the months leading up to the killing.

O'Neil was interviewed by Rich Bergeron on the Fight News Unlimited podcast for July 4, 2025 at the 26th minute. The interview lasted 25 minutes. O'Neil discussed his sports background and the incident that he had with a terrorist. O'Neil mentioned his training partner Shannon Berry during his interview with Bergeron. O'Neil mentioned the 2013 movie Lone Survivor and 2014 movie American Sniper during the Fight News Unlimited podcast. He stated that Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle made millions of dollars by having their military experienes detailed in the above mentioned Hollywood movies. O'Neil stated during his interview with Rich Bergeron that he will not profit from releasing his confirmed kill as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Chris Kyle was murdered in 2013. Marcus Luttrell has had his integrity and valour questioned due to the death of Michael P. Murphy after Luttrell admitted he did not help Murphy during an ambush. Matthew E. O'Neil competed against Rory Reid for Clark County Commission (District G) in Nevada on November 7, 2006 and lost, receiving 38 percent of the vote. He ran as a Democrat. Reid ran for the governor of Nevada in 2010 and lost to Brian Sandoval. In 2021, the Las Vegas airport was renamed Harry Reid International Airport in honor of Rory Reid's father. Reid had over one million dollars in his campaign fund when he competed against O'Neil. Ninety percent of the world famous Las Vegas strip is located in District G. O'Neil has been a registered Republican since 2012. He never mentioned once during his campaign that he killed in the military as part of Operation Southern Watch.

O'Neil was stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base as part of 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) from May 1999 until September 1999. 763rd EARS was in support of Operation Southern Watch. When he was at a Colorado Springs business a Middle Eastern man with a foreign accent punched O'Neil as hard as he could, told him he was going to kill him, and said he had a partner. O'Neil landed a kung fu punch and broke the terrorists neck. The terrorist died immediately upon impact. O'Neil had an eyewitness for the event. O'Neil believes that the Middle Eastern man was a terrorist. The Middle Eastern man was in his 30's or 40's, stood approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed roughly 190 pounds. The terrorist may have been sponsored by Saddam Hussein and Iraq. The Iraq War started in 2003. The incident is in the records department of the Cape Cod Military Museum which is run by Joe Yukna. It is also recorded at the website TogetherWeServed under 11th SWS.