Oklahoma soldier killed in Afghanistan

AP ^ | April 27, 2003 | AP

[2Jedismom]

Oklahoma soldier killed in Afghanistan

(Bagram, Afghanistan-AP) -- An Oklahoma soldier has been killed in fighting in Afghanistan.

Military officials say Private Jerod R-Dennis of Oklahoma died today from wounds he suffered during a gun battle yesterday with rebel fighters in eastern Afghanistan.

Dennis was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Thirty coalition soldiers have died in combat since the war in Afghanistan began in October 2001. There are 11-thousand 500 soldiers from 23 countries still in Afghanistan.

Dennis is Oklahoma's fifth causality.

[2Jedismom]

Prayers for his family. Anyone have any further information?

[MEG33]

God bless and comfort his loved ones.

[doug from upland]

God rest this good young man's soul.

[Nitro]

I went to Boot Camp with an Okie...

he was huge and freindly.

I like people from Oklahoma!

I am Nitro from Brooklyn, NY.

[krb]

:-(

God please bless his soul and comfort his family in this awful time of grief.

Freedom isn't free.

[cubreporter]

He died keeping all of us free. For that we thank him from the bottom of our hearts. May the good Lord comfort his family and may your brave soldier friend Dennis rest in peace.

[Nitro]

What is this dennis crap?

I am a veteran, not an asshole.

[annyokie]

Thank you for your service, Nitro. What was your rate/rank, Sir? I'll address you thereby forevermore. (Hubby 20 years USA, retired.)

[Nitro]

I was an OS2 on the USS Nitro AE-23.

[annyokie]

I am weak with Naval ranks/rates. What is that equivelant to in the other branches of the Service? I have brothers-in-law who were Lt. Commanders (USN) but I can't tell you the designation, eg, O-whatever. Thanks for helping me learn!

[cubreporter]

I'm sorry...I don't know what I said wrong? Please clear this up for me. Maybe I read something wrong? I was only trying to offer my condolence to you as you said you went through basic with this young man. I was only telling you I was sorry your friend passed away. Help me out as I did not mean to offend in any way, shape or form and if I misread something and posted something offensive, please accept my apology. thanks.

[cubreporter]

I guess this is where I went wrong. I thought you said you went to boot camp with this person. Now I see where you said you went to boot camp with a person from Oklahoma. Sorry for the error. Didn't mean to offend.

[MEG33]

I don't think you have a thing to apologize for.An innocent misread.

[MEG33]

Pfc Dennis is the soldier who died..I honor his sacrifice.A simple misread of your post was made..certainly no reason to be angry or disrespect the dead man's name.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[cubreporter]

Thank you MEG33,I appreciate your kind words. Yes, it was an innocent misread and I am very sorry for not being more careful. I will in the future. However, my wish is the same...comfort for his family and peace for this brave soldier. Have a nice day.

[2Jedismom]

2nd U.S. Soldier Dies After Afghan Fight

By D'ARCY DORAN : Associated Press Writer
Apr 26, 2003 : 11:40 pm ET

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- A second American soldier died Saturday from wounds suffered the day before in a battle with rebel fighters in eastern Afghanistan, a military spokesman said.

The soldier died hours after Friday's battle, Col. Roger King said from Bagram Air Base, the headquarters of U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Another U.S. soldier died Friday.

The Pentagon on Saturday identified the first soldier killed as Pvt. Jerod R. Dennis, 19, of Oklahoma. Dennis was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, N.C. His hometown was not given. The name of the soldier who died on Saturday was not released.

"Afghanistan continues to be a combat zone," King said.

Thirty coalition soldiers have died in combat since the war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, King said. There are 11,500 soldiers from 23 countries still in Afghanistan.

Later Saturday, an honor guard of 100 helmeted soldiers in desert fatigues saluted as pallbearers lifted two coffins wrapped in American flags into a C-130 transport plane. The soldiers' bodies were being flown to Dover, Del., by way of bases in Uzbekistan and Germany.

Both casualties were from the 82nd Airborne Division, said Maj. Robert Hepner, a U.S. military spokesman at Bagram.

The deaths occurred after U.S. soldiers engaged at least 20 rebels in a brief gunbattle at Shkin, in eastern Afghanistan, King said. It was not clear if the enemy were holdouts from the Taliban regime, fugitive members of the al-Qaida terrorist network or loyalists of renegade Afghan commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, King said.

The area near the Pakistani border has been one of the most active in the country, with frequent rocket attacks on U.S. bases.

Four other U.S. soldiers injured in the fighting were in stable condition at a hospital at the base, just north of the capital, Kabul, King said.

The soldiers were investigating reported activity by a group of men armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 assault rifles.

"We had a report of suspicious activity," King said. "It was a place where rockets had been fired before, so a unit went out to take a look around."

The two sides, who were similar in size, became locked in a "short, sharp" firefight that ended when the rebels scattered and ran in the direction of the Pakistan border, only 1,000 yards away, King said.

At least three enemy fighters were killed.

King said a second group of 35 U.S. soldiers was quickly called in, and two F-16 fighter jets, an A-10 fighter aircraft and helicopter gunships scrambled to the area, but were unable to lock onto any targets.

[2Jedismom]

I think I heard on the news tonight that the young man was from Antlers.

[2Jedismom]

Antlers soldier remembered
2003-04-28
By The Associated Press



OKLAHOMA CITY - Jerod Dennis' parents were worried when he decided to join the Army, but they knew it was important to him, so they supported his decision.
Now their worst fears have materialized.

The 19-year-old private was fatally wounded Friday in a firefight with rebel fighters in eastern Afghanistan.

"It wasn't what I wanted him to do," his mother, Jane Dennis, said Monday in a telephone interview from her home in Antlers, a small town in far southeastern Oklahoma. "I just wanted him to be safe. But it was so important to him, I supported him 100 percent."

Dennis' father, Jerry Dennis, said he urged his son to really think through the decision to join the military, but didn't try to dissuade him.

"It was his decision," he said. "He was committed. He wanted to do his part."

Jerod Dennis decided to join the Army shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

He was in basic training just a month after his May 2002 graduation from Antlers High School, where he was a standout tennis player and known for occasional classroom pranks.

He played doubles tennis and his team made it to the state championships twice.

His mother said he may also hold the school record for most paddlings from a principal.

"He got into trouble but it wasn't bad trouble," Jane Dennis said. "It was just pranks and things like that."

Dennis was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Bragg, N.C. By January he had been deployed overseas and he told his family he would be going to Afghanistan.

His parents worried, but he was excited.

"He was looking forward to it," his mother said. "He wasn't the least bit fearful. He was just ready to do his job he'd been trained to do."

"Things seemed like they'd settled down in Afghanistan," his father said, "but I knew there was still danger."

Jerod Dennis kept in touch with his parents by telephone and mail.

He would ask about family and friends, and want to know what was going on back home.

Father and son were close. They once had taken a four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle on a hunting trip, got it stuck and had to push and pull it more than a mile to get it home, encountering a hill and wet, swampy land on the way back.

Jerry Dennis recalled telling the young man that not all fathers and sons have similar experiences. Jerod Dennis, pulling the vehicle, replied:

"Yeah, Dad, we're really bonding now."

On April 2, he spoke to his father for the last time. He said he was bored and looking forward to an upcoming mission near the Pakistani border.

[annyokie]

It was an innocent mistake, my friend. I think our friend Nitro was offended that you didn't refer to the young man by his rank, but rather by his Christian name. I am not putting words in anyone's mouth, that's just my take.