WILLIAMSTOWN, KY, U.S.A.
U.S. ARMY
SFC, HHT, 1ST SQDN, 33RD CAV, 3RD BCT(TF BAND OF BROTHERS), 101ST AIRBORNE DIV, FORT CAMPBELL, KY
01/01/2006, AS SINIYAH, IRAQ
SFC Jason Lee Bishop was born October 12, 1974. From the time Jason was 5 years old, he’d ask for Army toys and helicopters to play with. He grew up in Covington, Kentucky. The family moved to Williamstown during his senior year of high school. He was a member of the Holmes High School ROTC program in Covington for three years. Because Jason did not want to give up something he loved being part of, during his senior year, he drove from Williamstown to Covington every day to continue ROTC.
Jason enlisted in the Army before he graduated from Holmes in 1993. He was so excited about joining the Army, that he would shine his boots for an hour so they were perfect and he sent his uniforms to the dry cleaners. He also enjoyed playing golf, hunting and restoring an antique Dodge truck.
Jason was a fearless professional who served as a drill sergeant at Fort Knox for four years and had completed tours in Korea and Bosnia. He had received numerous awards and citations during his career including the National Service Defense Medal, Order of Spurs Medal, Meritorious Service Award, Bronze Star, Army Achievement Medal, Assault Badge, Legion of Merit, Armed Forces Services Award and Good Conduct award. He was also awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman’s Badge following his death.
Calling home was a regular thing and he would request hard pepperoni, beef jerky, a jar of Skippy peanut butter and some toothbrushes. He would also always say to his father, “Hey Dad, I’ve got a joke for you” – his sense of humor will be greatly missed. Jason had been in Iraq only four months. He was a convoy commander of 35 to 50 soldiers. His patrol came under fire when they were called in to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle in a ravine. He got within 150 meters; the engine revved up and then blew up. Jason was killed because he stepped in front of a suicide bomber and saved his fellow soldiers.
He leaves behind his wife, Katrina, a son and daughter.
In a message to a friend sent just before shipping out to Iraq, Jason said, “Tell my boy what his father was like if I don’t come back”.