Humayun Khan was a Pakistani-American born in the United Arab Emirates on September 9 , 1976 , to Pakistani parents . After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2000 , he joined the U.S. Army 's 201st Forward Support Battalion , 1st Infantry Division . Throughout his four years of service , he rose in ranks to become an officer in the U.S. army before being killed by a car bomb June 8 , 2004 , saving the lives of his fellow soldiers . Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ’s temporary immigration ban based on a list of terror linked countries ( created under the Obama administration ) brought Khan 's parents , Khizr and Ghazala Khan , into the public spotlight as they addressed Trump at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 . Speaking out to defend their son , and others who died in the American military , created an " unexpected and potentially pivotal flash point in the general election " Colonel Douglas Burpee is a retired U.S. Marine , having flown helicopters for 27 years . Burpee was born Episcopalian but converted to Islam when he was 19 in the late 1970s while attending the University of Southern California . He was accepted into the Officers Candidates ' School in Quantico , VA , after graduation . At the end of his service , Burpee was the highest ranking Muslim in the U.S. Marine Corps
Democratic National Convention
2016 Democratic National Convention
Muslims in the United States military