SSG Jonathan K Dozier ~Farewell and Walk with God

SSG Jonathan Killian Dozier

Died January 9, 2008 ~ Iraq

The Department of Defense announced the death of six soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died January 9, 2008 in Sinsil, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated in a booby-trapped house during combat operations. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Vilseck, Germany.

Killed were:Spc. Todd E. Davis, 22, of Raymore, Mo., Staff Sgt. Jonathan K. Dozier, 30, of Rutherford, Tenn., Staff Sgt. Sean M. Gaul, 29, of Reno, Nev., Sgt. Zachary W. McBride, 20, of Bend, Ore., Sgt. 1st Class Matthew I. Pionk, 30, of Superior, Wis., Sgt. Christopher A. Sanders, 22, of Roswell, N.M.

From WTKR -- Chesapeake native Staff Sergeant Jonathan Kilian Dozier died in Iraq. The 30 year old soldier was killed during ongoing operations in the Baqouba area and Diyala province in central Iraq, his father, Carl Dozier, said this afternoon.

Dozier came from a family with a history of service. His relatives fought in the Civil War, both World Wars and Desert Storm. One of Dozier's kin, Thomas Lenwood Dozier, fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War as a private in the North Carolina Regiment. Carl Dozier's maternal grandfather, Kilian Lang, served as an artilleryman in the German army in World War I. His father, Wilbur, enlisted in the Coast Guard in August 1941, just months before the U.S. entered World War II following the sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Dozier said his son e-mailed him a photograph (shown above), taken on Christmas Day after his unit had a holiday meal - and just minutes before he was to go on an earlier mission. He said he did all he could to stay in touch with his son.


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SSG Jonathan Dozier is buried at Arlington National Cemetery: http://arlingtoncemetery.net/jkdozier.htm

SSG Dozier lived his life on the 'tip of the spear', a life dedicated to his country, to something larger than himself. By the comments from the people who have visited here, SSG Dozier was a caring and wonderful man and friend.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends and the men he served with during this difficult time.