"And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave." (Joseph Drake)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
UNITED STATES ARMY
NATIONAL GUARD
★★★★★★★ RECIPIENT OF THE PURPLE HEART ★★★★★★★
Killed In Action
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Vazquez died September 17, 2008 while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.
SSgt. Vazquez, 24, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 122nd Field Artillery, Illinois Army National Guard, Sycamore, Illinois. He died in Gerdia Seria, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was 1st Lt. Mohsin A. Naqvi, Capt. Bruce E. Hays and Sgt. Joshua W. Harris.
He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Sycamore, Illinois. The U.S. Army Illinois National Guardsman was also a Cook County Corrections Officer.
Mr. Vazquez's fiancée said he was very involved with his family and was focused on his career.
"I watched him achieve everything he wanted in these past three years," said Genevieve Gonzalez. "He made my life so much happier. He was more than just a partner, he was my best friend."
Vazquez was the type of son who would hang his grandmother's curtains, plant flowers in her garden and visit his grandparents regularly, relatives said. Even in Afghanistan, he found a way to talk to them every day. He last asked for his Chicago Bears and Cubs hats to be sent.
He and Gonzalez, who planned to marry on Labor Day in 2009, met on a MySpace Web site about three years ago. Vazquez helped his fiancée raise her 8-year-old daughter. "He was her world. She keeps asking: "Where is my Jason?'" Gonzalez said of her daughter.
"I just sent out three care packages to him in Afghanistan," Gonzalez said. "He asked for his Chicago Bears and Cubs hats. I just know that he didn't get them."
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
"These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They may or may not sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead." ~Robert G. Ingersoll
"And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave." (Joseph Drake)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
UNITED STATES ARMY
NATIONAL GUARD
★★★★★★★ RECIPIENT OF THE PURPLE HEART ★★★★★★★
Killed In Action
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Vazquez died September 17, 2008 while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.
SSgt. Vazquez, 24, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 122nd Field Artillery, Illinois Army National Guard, Sycamore, Illinois. He died in Gerdia Seria, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was 1st Lt. Mohsin A. Naqvi, Capt. Bruce E. Hays and Sgt. Joshua W. Harris.
He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Sycamore, Illinois. The U.S. Army Illinois National Guardsman was also a Cook County Corrections Officer.
Mr. Vazquez's fiancée said he was very involved with his family and was focused on his career.
"I watched him achieve everything he wanted in these past three years," said Genevieve Gonzalez. "He made my life so much happier. He was more than just a partner, he was my best friend."
Vazquez was the type of son who would hang his grandmother's curtains, plant flowers in her garden and visit his grandparents regularly, relatives said. Even in Afghanistan, he found a way to talk to them every day. He last asked for his Chicago Bears and Cubs hats to be sent.
He and Gonzalez, who planned to marry on Labor Day in 2009, met on a MySpace Web site about three years ago. Vazquez helped his fiancée raise her 8-year-old daughter. "He was her world. She keeps asking: "Where is my Jason?'" Gonzalez said of her daughter.
"I just sent out three care packages to him in Afghanistan," Gonzalez said. "He asked for his Chicago Bears and Cubs hats. I just know that he didn't get them."
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
"These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They may or may not sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead." ~Robert G. Ingersoll
