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| Age: |
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21 |
| Hometown: |
Bowie, MD
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| Date of Death: |
3/13/2004 |
| Incident Location: |
Tikrit, Iraq |
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| Branch of Military: |
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Army |
| Rank: |
Spc. |
| Unit: |
1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment |
| Unit's Base: |
Schweinfurt, Germany |
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When Spc. Jason C. Ford''s unit arrived in Tikrit, Iraq, to take over security duties, the soldier was uneasy. When he called his
father and stepmother, he told them of hearing gunfire during his first patrol in Tikrit, the site of frequent attacks on U.S. soldiers.
"I could hear the anxiety. It was almost like he was saying to himself, ''This is the real thing,''" said his father, Joseph Ford.
Days later, the 21-year-old soldier from Bowie, Md., was killed while on his second patrol in Tikrit, when a roadside bomb exploded next to his Humvee on March 13.
People gravitated to the soldier because of his happy demeanor, his stepmother said.
"He was just sweet, a good child," Irene Ford said. "There was nobody who didn''t like him."
Joseph Ford said the Army gave his son structure and some "growing up." The Vietnam veteran said he tried to reassure his son that his training would get him through his tour in Iraq. |
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