Army Spc. Hess was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. Hess died Dec. 5 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, of injuries sustained Nov. 11 in Ta'Meem, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Abrams battle tank he was driving. Other members of the tank crew pulled him out; he was the only one seriously wounded. Jordan attended Lake Stevens High School where he participated in wrestling. After leaving Lake Stevens High, he obtained his GED and worked as a roofer. He was impatient with school, although bright with math and some other subjects. A diagnosis of attention deficit disorder may explain the impatience, his parents said. He lived with his parents in Marysville, Washington until he joined the Army about three years ago. In basic training, some recruits called him the "Terminator" after he escaped from one group during a war game exercise, summoned his own squad and captured the other team. An instructor also once challenged Jordan to a no-rules, one-on-one face off and he accidentally broke the instructor's leg with a takedown move. He also was a complex person. On one hand he was a champion amateur wrestler and had a warrior's spirit; thrilled at the chance to serve his country. On the other he wrote poetry, dabbled in blown glass and had an artist's eye with a camera. He had only been in Iraq three or four weeks before he was wounded. His family members are grateful that they had a chance to say goodbye to him. He also was able to tell his family that he loved them. Jordan had his ups and downs in life but he was maturing into a real man. He was such a loving kid that just having him around was great. The whole family loved him.