FRANKLIN, TN, US
U.S. Army
SPC, TROOP C, 1ST SQD, 13TH CAVALRY REGT, 3RD INF BDE COMBAT TEAM, FORT BLISS, TX
04/26/2012, BETHESDA, UNITED STATES
Jason was wounded on patrol on April 15, 2012 by small arms fire in Laghman Province Afghanistan. He was an Infantry mortar soldier. His unit started taking on fire and he was returning to the vehicle to get the mortar when he was wounded. He was shot in the head and the damage was too much for him to be able to recover. He was first flown to Germany, where we were able to join him, and then on to Walter Reed. As a family we chose to remove life support and he lived two days afterwards. I was with him when he took his last breath on this earth. He was 22 years old and 85 days away from returning from his first deployment.
Jason was born in Nashville Tennessee and grew up in the Nashville area. He was living with his father in Franklin, TN when he joined the Army. It was a shock to us all but we were very proud of him. I was able to go to El Paso, TX to visit him at Fort Bliss the December before his deployment in 2011. I was so amazed at the transformation from teenager to responsible adult that he had become. He was so grown up.
As a child Jason was always very sweet and loving. He loved to talk. I read his report cards from when he was in elementary school and talking seemed to get him in trouble a lot. It’s a good thing he was so adorable so his teachers were willing to overlook his chattiness. He made friends easily and was always a good kid.
When he graduated from Franklin High School he tried college at East Tennessee State University for a few semesters but he was away from home and as most boys his age thought it was his time to play and he didn’t take his classes too seriously. He met his future wife, Ashley, while there but soon decided to drop out. He just couldn’t figure out what to do from there and I guess he felt the Army was a good choice and he would be able to serve and then go to college once he got out. He and Ashley married shortly after he joined the Army and she moved with him to Fort Bliss. They had been married almost 3 years when he was killed. They were planning a formal wedding when he returned from Afghanistan since they didn’t get to have one before.
Jason was always a wheeler and dealer like his father who is a salesman. He was always into something and always trying to talk me into doing something that I knew he shouldn’t be doing. He was always a sore loser and I remember playing tennis with him. He never could beat his Mom and it frustrated him to no end.
Jason loved to ride motorcycles and dirt bikes and while in the Army he developed a love of guns and had collected several. He also loved animals like me and had a boxer named Charlie that he also left behind.
Jason was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, TX. He graduated from basic training at Fort Benning, GA where I now live.
His awards and decorations include Purple Heart, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge and the Marksmanship Qualification Badge Expert with Rifle.
Jason was survived by his wife Ashley, parents Janet and Mike Crane, Jim and Jan Edens, half-brother JR Edens, step sister Kelly Crane, step brother James Crane.