Jeremiah S Santos - OurWarHeroes.org - Tribute sites by Q Madp

Jeremiah Soham Santos

Devils Lake, North Dakota

June 15, 2006

Age	Military	Rank	Unit/Location
21	Army	Cpl	2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas

Killed in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.

Jeremiah was born April 6, 1985, to Laurie (Santos) McGlone and Shannon Santos in San Diego, CA.

He attended elementary school in Santee and Escondido, CA and attended middle school and high school in Devil's Lake, N.D. His mother Laurie, stepfather Patrick Mc Glone, brother Alexander Santos and sister Eliza McGlone all live in North Dakota.

He was involved in the ROTC at Devil's Lake High School, where he was in the color guard. Jeremiah left school and attended the Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center in Minot, ND. He earned a GED, and graduated in the facility maintenance program at the Job Corps Center in January 2004. He also attended a semester of classes at Minot State University. Jeremiah met his wife Jessica Tyner while at Job Corps. They joined the Army at the same time in 2004 and they were later married. Jessica is stationed at Ft Hood, Texas.

Jeremiah was actively involved with the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association with his Nana and Gramps, Ruth and Ralph Warnock who live in Ramona, CA. His brother, Alex, and he were often seen helping the guys with the engines at the many events from the time they were toddlers on into their teenage years.
They were often seen off with their Nana and Gramps traveling in their motor home to an event.

On April 1, 2004, Jeremiah enlisted in the United States Army. He attended basic and advanced training at Fort Benning, Ga. and later went to Fort Hood, Texas and was assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment and ending in Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment where he served in various infantryman positions including Bradly Fighting Vehicle Driver, SAW Gunner and Team Leader.

In 2005, Jeremiah, along with the rest of his group spent a month at Ft Irwin, CA undergoing intense training preparing them for their deployment duties in Iraq. His nana and gramps spent their last weekend with him there.

He was then deployed to combat with his unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom November of 2005 in Kalsu, Iraq. The military said “Santos made the ultimate sacrifice for his country while leading his men on the battlefield in Baghdad on Thursday, June 15, 2006 in a roadside bomb attack that detonated near his Humvee during combat” in a statement.
On his one leave since leaving for Iraq in November 2005, he had come home and spoken to members of his church, Bethel Evangelical Free Church, in Devils Lake, ND on his belief in God and convictions of his service in the Army and to the Iraqi people. The Rev. Bruce Dick said “Jeremiah really loved serving his country, and told us he was proud of what he did — and he made no apologies for being there.” He said “he loved the people there.” Rev Dick said Santos’ speech drew applause from the congregation of about 175 people. Rev Dick told him Jeremiah said he wasn’t afraid to die. Jeremiah was a self-confident, strong and very determined young man. “The mood had changed with the news of his death. We shed a lot of tears,” Dick said. The war has brought a U.S. death toll of about 2,500. “Until now, the number 2,500 had just become a number to us but now we have a face and a name,” Dick said. “It has touched us here and we will never look at that number the same.”

Corporal Santos was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge and the Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badge.
Jeremiah service was held with full military honors in Ramona, California where he is buried in the Nuevo Cemetary. A memorial service was later held in Devil’s Lake, ND.
Patrick had said he and his stepson got matching tattoos when Jeremiah was home on leave. The design, a knight chess figure, had special meaning for them because they played chess. The tattoo included the words, “no guts, no glory.”
Mom, Laurie, shares that her son used to give her kisses in front of his high school friends.

"He kissed me in front of the high school, in front of his friends, and he got ribbed for it a lot," she said. "But then he'd say to them, 'Don't you kiss your mom?'"
Mom received her last kiss while he was home on leave March 2005.

Jeremiah called or emailed as often as possible. We had a close network at home and kept everyone up to date when he would call to let them all know he was safe. His last email was to his nana. He was on his webcam . His message ended with “sorry nana something just came up i have to go. luv u. xoxoxo”
Someone once told me that “grieving is a journey, it has a beginning but no ending.” I truly believe this, for along with all of his family and friends, I will grieve for Jeremiah forever. Nana.