'HE LOVED HIS COUNTRY' GREEN BERET HONORED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS.Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Sgt. Jonathan Tessar, a Green Beret killed last month in Iraq, was remembered Friday, Veterans Day, as a fierce, brave leader who protected his soldiers and loved his country. The 36-year-old Simi Valley native dreamt of becoming ``a special-forces Ranger with tattoos'' and fulfilled a boyhood dream when he joined the Army at 17, family members said. Nearly two decades later, he was eulogized as a mischievous youngster who loved candy and cartoons and went on to become a hero who trained his soldiers, knowing they would fight beside him in war. ``His life started when his military career began,'' said his older brother Bill Tessar, shedding tears. ``He loved his country the way a little girl loves her puppy. ``He spoke. He did. He lived. He died.'' The special-forces soldier died Oct. 31 when a bomb detonated near a Humvee carrying him and three other servicemen. He was months away from retiring and joining his wife, Nancy, and three children in Kentucky. The fallen soldier will be buried Monday at Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery, 420 acres (170 hectares), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.; est. 1864. More than 60,000 American war dead, as well as notables including Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, Gen. John J. in Virginia, along with his medals, including a Purple Heart Purple Heart U.S. medal awarded to those wounded in military action. [Am. Hist.: Misc.] See : Bravery and Bronze Star Bronze Star n. A U.S. military decoration awarded either for heroism or for meritorious achievement in ground combat. Noun 1. . Tessar was Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative Valley's fifth casualty of war. He was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branched maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. , 101st Airborne Division. Hundreds packed St. Peter Claver This article is about the Jesuit Saint. For the Filipino municipality, see Claver, Surigao del Norte. Saint Peter Claver (in Spanish: Pedro Claver Catholic Church in Simi Valley, where Tessar's flag-draped coffin was sprinkled with holy water, his military dog tags dangled from the neck of his wife and mourners sang ``Amazing Grace'' and ``America the Beautiful America the Beautiful patriotic song by Katherine Bates glorifying national ideals (1893). [Am. Music: Scholes, 30] See : Song, Patriotic .'' ``He was faithful and loyal in his commitment to the service,'' said Msgr. Gary Bauler, who presided over the service. ``His service was his best expression of love, and that love will live forever.'' The sergeant first class served in the Gulf War, Bosnia and Iraq ``so people might be free; to treasure what we have and to know someone cared so much that he would sacrifice his life,'' Bauler added. ``He had no regrets.'' Sgt. John Cameron John Cameron may refer to:
``(He) told me what he expected out of me,'' he said, ``for me to do whatever he said and everything would be fine. He would always tell me he'd take care of us. ``He was always one to laugh. He will be remembered by how he lived his life.'' Tessar marched to a different drum, his brother said, joking that he had a flattop when long hair was in. ``My brother did not want to die for his country, but he was willing to do so,'' said Bill Tessar. ``For the rest of my life, I will see to it that my little brother, Jonathan, is never forgotten for what he did for his country.'' Angie Valencia-Martinez, (805) 583-7604 angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Bill Tessar, center, brother of Army Sgt. Jonathan Tessar, watches as Jonathan's casket is carried past during the funeral Friday at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Simi Valley. Above, Nancy Tessar wears her late husband's dog tags, one of them backed with the couple's portrait. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News (3) Sgt. Jonathan Tessar leans against a truck during his stint in Iraq, where he was killed in action last month. |
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