FRANKFORT, IN, US
U.S. Army
SSG ,TROOP A, 4TH SQD, 4TH CAV REG, 1ST HEAVY BDE CT, FORT RILEY
03/21/2012, TOPEKA , UNITED STATES
Captain Thomas J. Lesh, a Fort Riley squadron chaplain, officiated at the service for Sergeant Jamie Darrell Jarboe. He took those gathered through Sergeant Jarboe’s journey. A sniper bullet struck Sergeant Jamie Jarboe in the neck on April 10, 2011, while he was on foot patrol in the Zhari district of Afghanistan. His unit, known as the Pale Riders, had just finished securing a southern Afghanistan village when he stood up to check for signs of danger and was shot. After undergoing more than 115 surgeries in 10 months, Sergeant Jarboe, who was paralyzed from the chest down by the bullet, landed in Topeka on Feb. 17th at Philip Billard Municipal Airport. He was transported to St. Francis Health Center, where he died March 21st.
Sergeant Jarboe joined the Indiana Army National Guard in 2005 and volunteered to go to Iraq, where he served a nine-month tour. He enlisted in the Army in 2007 and again deployed to Iraq, where he served a 15-month tour. Jarboe was assigned to Operation Enduring Freedom in February 2011 and deployed to Afghanistan. It was the same month he married Melissa, the “woman of his dreams.”
“You are what’s best in me,” Sergeant Jarboe wrote in a letter to his wife two days before he was shot.
Family members told of the gummy peach rings and chocolate chip cookies they sent in packages to Jamie. He always shared them with other soldiers. Chaplain Lesh also spoke about “Jarboe’s code,” including “life isn’t fair, get over it,” and “no whining.” “Jarboe was a soldier’s soldier,” Lesh added.
Jamie Jarboe addressed his two daughters and fellow soldiers via a video recording he and his wife made before his death. “It’s been a long road, just like you guys have had a long road,” he told soldiers. Jamie spoke about wanting to get out of the hospital and made lighthearted jokes.
From Prayers for Sergeant Jamie Jarboe: “A wife, a little girl, a father, a mother, wake up today to celebrate a life of a loved one. A soldier who sacrificed his life for the love of his country. He is remembered for his life and in his death with great honors.”