CASHION, OK, USA U.S. Marines LCPL, C CO, 2D CEB, (2D MEB FWD), 2D MAR DIV, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC CAMP DWYER, AFGHANISTAN 07/30/2009
On July 4, 2009, Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan Stroud penned a letter to Sam Boyd, the best man in his wedding. It read, “Hey guys I hope all is well. I should be back there pretty soon in about four-and-a-half months. It’s really hot here; we moved from the desert down to the river, and now it’s super hot and humid. It’s really pretty out here in its own way. It’s peaceful at night except when you hear the gunshots.”
Lance Corporal Jonathan Stroud was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina as a combat engineer. He was killed during a firefight while his unit was on foot patrol on July 31, 2009 in Garmsir District, Afghanistan.
Jonathan was born on October 10, 1988 in North Richland Hills, Texas. He attended Cashion High School in Cashion, OK where teachers remember him as exceptionally intelligent – superior skills in reading and writing. Fellow students remember him as the class clown – goofy, gangly, dorky, the most honest, and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. In his senior yearbook, Jonathan said that he was most likely to smell like green beans. Why? Because he just had that kind of humor.
Jonathan Stroud and Boyd had been friends since two days after Stroud moved to Cashion in elementary school. They often either hung out at Boyd’s house or hit the road in his pickup. “For no reason at all, he loved to drive,” Boyd said. “So he would pop in a cassette and we’d drive around for hours, just talking and listening to the music.”
He graduated in 2007 and joined the Marines on April 14, 2008. He was awarded numerous medals and honors, to include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
He leaves behind a wife, Lacie, who was due to deliver their first child in December 2009.
Jonathan’s quirky sense of humor came through with the final song played at his funeral, a special request he made for his memorial service in case he didn’t make it back – Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”
He is survived by his wife Lacie E. Stroud of Jacksonville, N.C.; mother Mavis Stroud of Cashion, OK; father Bill R. Stroud of Bedford, TX; and sister Marissa L. Stroud of Oklahoma City, OK. Jonathan’s bright smile and sense of humor will be missed by all that knew and loved him.
Lance Corporal Stroud is buried in Cashion Cemetery, Cashion, OK.
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