Posted on 07/29/2009 1:27:47 AM PDT by kathsua
Jeremy Clawson was so ambitious and accomplished in every aspect of his life that his recent death left his former commander “shell-shocked.”
“I was really in disbelief because he was just so full of life,” Rick Peat, commander of the 105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment in Topeka, said Monday. “That’s just the way he was – he wanted to squeeze every bit of juice out of life, whether in his career or with his family.”
Clawson, 36, a decorated soldier and member of the Kansas Army National Guard, was found dead last Tuesday along a road at his post in Fort Sill, Okla., according to The Associated Press.
His body was found near one of the post’s firing ranges and his death is being investigated by the post’s Criminal Investigation Division, the AP reported.
Peat, who had remained in contact with Clawson over the years since serving in Afghanistan together in 2004, said family members still do not know how Clawson died. Friends have reported he was missing for four days before his body was found.
Officials at Fort Sill are not releasing any details about Clawson’s death in order “to protect the integrity of the investigation,” according to Jeffrey Castro in public affairs for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.
While Peat said he was shocked by the untimely passing of Clawson, who is survived by his wife, Cheyla, and a daughter, Quiera, of Norman, Okla., Peat could also quickly recall fond memories of the man he described as “highly intelligent, ambitious and extremely energetic.”
“He had very high standards,” Peat said. “For him, it wasn’t worth doing unless you put your all into it.”
The two met in 2002, when Clawson joined Peat’s unit in Topeka. From July 2004 to July 2005, Clawson was deployed to Afghanistan, where he was a military journalist. During that time, he wrote a monthly column about his experiences that appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Clawson earned the respect of fellow soldiers as “the first soldier from our unit to go out on a combat mission” as a military journalist in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Peat said.
“The infantry was always worried about extra people coming along, but (Clawson) was good at keeping up,” he said. “Having already been in the infantry, he was basically one of them.
“He produced an eight-page newsletter about their mission when he returned, with stories about medics and the soldiers and what they were doing. (The soldiers) just loved it – they posted it in their bunk areas and sent it home to their families. It really described what they had done and made them very proud.”
After his time in Afghanistan, Clawson was determined to become and officer, which required a commander’s recommendation.
“I didn’t even have think about it,” Peat said. “He was a born leader. He was exceptional. He wasn’t your typical soldier and he earned every one of those (awards).”
Clawson’s ambitious nature led him to pursue becoming an Army Ranger, to be among “the best of the infantry,” Peat said.
“Thirty-four is an old age to go through Ranger school because it’s very rigorous, and usually guys in their early 20s do it,” he said. “He was one of the honor graduates from his platoon.”
Clawson was third in his class at the U.S. Army Ranger School, according to the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department. His military education also included Airborne School, Special Forces Assess and Select, Air Assault, Australian Rappelling School, Public Affairs/Broadcast Journalism and Officer Candidate School.
A native of Sandy, Utah, Clawson enlisted in the Army in 1990 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in October 2006. He served in multiple operations, including Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2007 to November 2008. He also served in Bosnia and Kosovo during his career.
Clawson earned a Bronze Star Medal during his deployment to Iraq, the only second lieutenant to receive such an award during the time he was there, according to the adjutant general’s office.
He received many other awards and decorations, including the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (fifth award), Army Achievement Medal (sixth award), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
At the time of his death, Clawson was a student at the University of Oklahoma studying political science, film and anthropology. He was on active duty at Fort Sill, serving with the 2nd Battalion, 289th Field Artillery. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry in the Kansas National Guard in Kansas City and had served with the 1161st Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery.
Before being deployed to Afghanistan in January 2004, Clawson had attended Barton County Community College while his wife was a dance instructor there. As editor of the student newspaper, The Interrobang, Clawson led a group of student journalists in covering a financial aid scheme within the college’s athletic department that resulted in the convictions of the athletic director and seven coaches.
Peat recalled Clawson’s leadership as a military journalist in Afghanistan, as well.
“(Soldiers) had respect for his energy and competence,” Peat said. “He was quite funny and would get in a lot of debates during our down time, on anything from politics to the color of the sky.
“He was having fun, but he also taught soldiers in the unit to think critically, to question the facts and look beyond what’s immediately in front of them.”
FYI ...
A wake and visitation for 1st Lt. Jeremy Andrew Clawson will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Downing & Lahey Funeral Home, 6555 E. Central in Wichita.
A funeral and memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Wichita State University Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Roger Lowe Auditorium, at 29th and Oliver in Wichita. Burial will be Thursday in Old Mission Cemetery, 3424 E. 21st St. North in Wichita, immediately following the memorial services.
A living fund has been established for Clawson’s daughter, Quiera, at White Eagle Credit Union, P.O. Box 86, Augusta, KS, 67010.
I wonder if he was working on a story at the time of his death, and if that could be a factor?
RIP.
The story was written by a civilian. “His post” probably referred to Fort Sill.
Another story with pics here
http://newsok.com/first-lt.-jeremy-clawson-remembered-as-leader/article/3387590
Someone called 911 to report body.
Much not being ssaid.
Nonetheless, prayers for the family in this, the saddest of all times.
The article was written by a civilian. Who knows what was left out or misrepresented?
It might even have happened when he had Staff Duty. Usually the SDNCO handled such mundane tasks (at least I did) but who knows?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.