| From Joe Swab 06/01/06:
Dear Patriot Guard Riders,
My name is Joe Schwab and I am Jeremy's best friend.
First of all thank you ALL for all that you do, you are providing support that is more important to the families at this time than any of us may ever fully understand.
Jeremy was killed in action on Memorial Day in Mosul, IRAQ.
He was a ?91 Whisky?, a combat medic with the Army's 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
He was riding in the turret of his medically equipped Stryker vehicle when he was shot in the shoulder unbeknownst to fellow soldiers. As you likely know, Medics are normally safely tucked away in the patient treatment area of the
Stryker. Jeremy loved to ride the turret to ?people watch? and to throw candy to the children as they patrolled the streets of Mosul.
When found, Jeremy was not breathing and CPR was started without delay. Only later was it discovered that he had succumb to having been been shot.
Jeremy was an accomplished shooter, training with me at Public Safety Training Center in Clackamas. It was here that I met him 3 years ago and took an immediate liking to the young family man who so interested in learning skills that he could use to protect his family.
Jeremy was navigation the challenges of being a husband and father at an early age and was looking for a career path that he could find self satisfaction in. Coming from over 20 year of fire and EMS, I suggested that he may find volunteer firefight and exciting path that he could gain experience and receive free training from.
Jeremy moved his family to Estacada and joined the fire department.
Once again I found myself in a mentor role (ok, I admit it I volunteered to teach the entire 2004 recruit fire academy because he was in it) with Jeremy. As before, he was an attentive learner and an enthusiastic student. He quickly decided that this was his calling and look at his options for becoming a full time firefighter-paramedic.
After completing his first year with the fire district he decided that the Army was his best option to gain the money he would need to complete his 2 year paramedic degree. He enlisted without delay, leaving his family in Estacada while we was away.
Jeremy made it a point to get in country as soon as possible to gain valuable medical experience and to get the chance to help people.
We both agreed that it is important that people understand that every soldiers is a real person, and not just a an age and home town. We decided one way we could try to drive this point home was to publish our e-mails back and forth where everyone could read them. He frequently shared his photos and thoughts with me publicly on my companies website forum, in a thread called the sandbox blog.
https://forums.crimsontrace.com/index.php?topic=44.0
We had no idea and never discussed just how ?real? this thread may become.
I have been at Melissa?s side every day since Memorial Day morning. Melissa and their daughter Chloe are doing very well considering the circumstances.
We, the fire department family are staying very close and will continue to meet any need she may have.
I asked her other day, ?what more can we do for you???
She replied in a tone reserved for when people tell you what is really on your mind? ?You know what I really would like?? ?I would have loved to have received more e-mail from people who share the loss of Jeremy? ?
Up to this point her e-mail address was closely guarded to prevent spam, however 2 people had her address and had written and she found GREAT COMFORT in their words.
So if you have ever uttered the words, is there anything I can do let us know?. here you go? We have her covered for food shelter and local support, we cannot supplicate the healing words of people who appreciate Jeremy and her sacrifice that she has never met. Her E-mail address is: (her permission) Loveless********.com
An account has been established for Jeremy and Melissa?s Daughter, Chloe at Washington Mutual Bank.
Correspondence and/or contributions may be sent to;
?Chloe?s Fund?
C/O Estacada Fire District
P.O. Box 608
Estacada, OR 97023
Once again thanks for all that you do and you compassion and caring for the families and friends of our fallen soldiers. Jeremy did not go to war to fight an enemy, he went to war to help friends.
I will meeting with family today to solidify funeral arrangements and will be happy to return and post them here.
Be Safe,
Joe Schwab
Engineer-Paramedic
Estacada Fire District |
| From The
Oregonian 06/01/06
Oregon loses a soldier who dared himself to keep going higher
As an Army medic, Jeremy Loveless had figured out how best to help his country, colleagues and family
Thursday, June 01, 2006
The Oregonian
Few people have figured things out by age 25, but Army Spcl. Jeremy Loveless believed he was well on his way. Early on, he'd found a strong faith and established a happy family. But in the past three years he'd found something else he'd been looking for -- his footing on an ascending career path.
A stint in the Army as a field medic, treating injured Iraqis, wasn't supposed to be Loveless' final stop, but only an interim destination to help him land a job. On Memorial Day, however, Loveless was killed near Mosul, Iraq. He is the 58th soldier with ties to Oregon to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the second graduate of Gresham High School to die.
People who knew Loveless in high school never pictured him in the Army. In high school, he was one of those kids who makes an impression on his teachers, though, not because he was a star (although he did play varsity soccer) but because he didn't live in the cool zone most teenagers inhabit, or at least pretend to occupy. Loveless was open, warm and inclined to heart-to-hearts. "That's the hardest thing for me," counselor Scott Lipner said Wednesday. Jeremy "was someone who was genuinely here to help others."
Loveless helped to start a group at Gresham High for Christian athletes and considered becoming a youth minister. He tried many things, including window washing, which helped him conquer his fear of heights. Three years ago, his friend and mentor Joe Schwab encouraged Loveless to try volunteer firefighting in Estacada, and Loveless -- an avid outdoorsman and rock climber -- became hooked.
Joining the Army was a way to pay for paramedic training, and secure a future for his family. As hard as it was to be so far away from wife, Melissa, and 4-year-old daughter, Chloe, Loveless enjoyed sharpening his skills, with one caveat. "I'm learning a lot over here," he wrote on March 20. " . . . But . . . when I'm called to do my job, it means something went wrong and somebody got hurt."
On Monday, it was Jeremy Loveless. Daughter Chloe has been told her dad is gone, but thinks he may only be visiting heaven, just as he visited her last year in Estacada.
We wish, too, that he were coming home soon.
An account has been established for Chloe Loveless. You should be able to contribute at any Portland-area branch of Washington Mutual. |
