Posted on 07/29/2009 1:18:12 AM PDT by kathsua
Jeremy Andrew Clawson was a man of great integrity, friends say.
As an American soldier, he put his life on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan to serve his country.
As a husband and father, he was devoted to his family.
And as a journalist, he never stopped pursuing the truth.
Clawson, 36, a member of the Kansas Army National Guard, was found dead Tuesday along a road at his post in Fort Sill, Okla., according to The Associated Press.
Fort Sill officials reported his body was found near one of the post's firing ranges. His death is being investigated by the post's Criminal Investigation Division, The AP reported.
After being activated by the Guard in December 2008, 1st Lt. Clawson arrived at Fort Sill in January and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 289th Field Artillery Regiment.
Friends of Clawson, who describe him as a leader and mentor with a magnetic personality, were shocked to hear of his death.
In 2003, Clawson attended Barton County Community College in Great Bend while his wife, Cheyla, was a dance instructor there, said Jennifer Schartz, a former journalism instructor at the college who is now chairwoman of the Barton County Commission and a public information officer for the Great Bend school district.
Schartz recalled how Clawson quickly went from columnist to editor of the college's student newspaper, The Interrobang, in 2003.
Before being deployed to Afghanistan in January 2004, Schartz said, Clawson spearheaded an effort to uncover a scandal in the college's athletic department that led to the convictions of the athletic director, seven coaches and eventually the firing of the college's president.
"When he saw things that were developing he knew were not right, he wasn't afraid to write editorials and columns ..." recalled Schartz, who had also been the adviser of the student newspaper at the time. "He wanted to get to the truth. He pushed for answers.
"He was a very strong believer in the First Amendment and exercised that right very responsibly."
Clawson led a group of student journalists in covering a financial aid scheme at the college, in which student-athletes were permitted to use a federal work-study program and campus jobs to avoid a conference ban on giving athletes full scholarships.
Time sheets were forged for student athletes representing work they did not do, and it was also uncovered false academic credentials were sent to a university on an athlete's behalf.
Former Barton County basketball coach Ryan Cross and former athletic director Neil Elliott were both sentenced in 2006 to four months in federal prison for their involvement in the scandal, according to The AP. Elliott admitted he sought a medical hardship ruling for a basketball player who was not entitled to it so the athlete could play ball for another year.
In 2004, the college chose not to renew Schartz's position "because I wasn't tenured," she said. She later filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the college and won a summary judgment in August 2006 when the school settled out of court for $130,000.
Schartz remembered Clawson as a talented journalist who not only encouraged younger writers but also developed a rapport with faculty at the Barton County college.
"He was bigger than life," she said. "You could put him into different groups and he would fit in with anyone."
She also described him as a devoted father to his 11-year-old daughter, Quiera.
"He was the epitome of a great father," Schartz said. "He was always so responsible to the paper, and when he would have to work late, he would bring in Quiera with a full bookbag of snacks and things to do."
Clawson executed both fatherhood and his role as newspaper editor "beautifully," she said, adding his "magnetic personality" and leadership skills inspired other students.
"A lot of those students are in journalism now because of his leadership," Schartz said. "I feel bad not everybody got to know Jeremy.
"He was the kind of guy everyone wanted to be friends with. You wanted to be in his life. You wanted to be in his circle of friends."
The student newspaper won several awards from the Kansas Associated Collegiate Press, she recalled, including First Amendment awards for Clawson, Schartz and Zach Becker, who succeeded Clawson in 2004 as editor of The Interrobang.
Those who worked with Clawson at The Interrobang in 2003 were a tight-knit group, she said. Many of the students have kept in touch with each other over the years, Schartz said, and she was able to keep in touch with Clawson through e-mail.
Schartz found out on Facebook, a social networking Web site, that Clawson had been missing for four days before he was found dead.
"I immediately called my former students," she said. "They're all very close and still genuinely care about each other."
Becker, now a graduate student at Missouri State University and founder of The Underground, the college's unofficial student publication, described Clawson as "a person of great integrity who believed in seeking the truth."
"It was pretty tough to be in the middle of an athletic department scandal, but it didn't faze him," Becker said. "I remember him telling me about a conversation he had with a coach. 'How am I supposed to recruit basketball players to the team if your paper is printing this garbage?' Jeremy told me he shot back, 'I didn't know the newspaper was supposed to be a recruiting tool.'
"He never backed down from anybody."
The news of Clawson's death "hit me hard," Becker said.
"He had the highest standards as a journalist. He served his country - he's been back and forth from Afghanistan. He would put himself in the line of fire," he said softly.
Clawson enlisted in the Army in October 1990 and was commissioned as an officer in October 2006. According to an online profile, he grew up in Sandy, Utah, and was an Army trainer.
"Anyone who ever met Jeremy Clawson would never forget him, and I know my life has really been enriched for having known him," Schartz said, her voice breaking up. "I can't imagine this world without him."
I would like to be pinged if you have an update on this thread, kathsua.
Thank you.
So sad. Prayers for his family and friends.
Please ping me if you learn of any updates. Thanks.
You aren’t Kathy Hanks, are you? I just notice you always post Hutch News articles.
As for this specific case, I recall that incident....it was an amazing investigation that took down lots of people....unfortunately eventually the newspaper advisor for supporting a free press.
No, I wish I could write like she does.
Not to drag out my tinfoil hat, but it does make me wonder if there’s a connection between his investigative skills and his death. Either someone who was caught in the past, or someone not-quite-Kosher in the Army who was about to be exposed.
Several years ago I was an obit clerk there and got to see her work...pretty neat.
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