From the family of Jeremy Vrooman
Jeremy's Story by Sue Vrooman I'd like to tell you a few things about our son, Jeremy, so you will know him a little better. Jeremy was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Feb. 27,1980. He was a great kid! His smile would light up a room. He was a typical kid growing up. He loved to play and have fun. He liked to ride gokarts, watch ALF on TV, and go hunting and fishing with his Dad. He always liked the Army, too, and thought that someday he might like to join up and serve his country. So after graduating from high school, that's what he did, and he never looked back. Jeremy became a U.S. Army soldier, and he was in it for the long haul. He was so proud to wear the uniform. Jeremy took his oath in Sioux Falls in Dec. 1999. A week later, he was at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, at basic training, where he trained to be a Cavalry Scout. His first assignment was Schweinfurt, Germany, in 2000. He loved Germany. He took full advantage of his single status while there and travelled. He learned the language quite well and learned how to read the road signs and the train schedule. He saw many countries. While at Schweinfurt, he was the Bradley driver for Colonel H.R. McMaster and Major Rice. He got to know them quite well. Col. McMaster introduced Jeremy and the platoon to the Kreuzberg Monastery, where they brew their own beer. Jeremy has been a fan of that beer ever since! After two years at Schweinfurt, he was next assigned to Ft. Carson, Colorado. There he met his future wife, Latrecia. They married, and soon after found that Jeremy was going to have to deploy to Iraq. The war had just started and he, being a Cav Scout, had to be among the first to go. Latrecia was also in the Army, but didn't have to deploy because she was pregnant! When Jeremy deptoyed in the spring of 2003, Latrecia went home to San Antonio to have their baby. Jeremy took his leave shortly after the baby was born in Nov. so he could meet his new son, Xavier. The KSAT News TV station was filming him getting off the plane and holding his new son for the first time. We have that tape. After Jeremy's leave was up, he went back to Iraq and finished his tour. During this time in Iraq, he was promoted to Sergeant. After returning to Ft. Carson, he decided to give recruiting a try. The family moved to Spokane and Jeremy served there as a recruiter for a little over a year. He didn't like it much. He asked to rejoin his unit. His request was granted, and they were assigned to Ft. Lewis, Washington in 2005. Ft. Lewis is where he learned all about the Strykers. A Stryker is an eight wheeled armored vehicle that can get in and out of a situation quickly. They can even run on eight flat tires. Jeremy liked Ft. Lewis, and was promoted to Staff Sergeant. The Cavalry Regiment was going to move to Germany soon, and he was hoping to go. He had been wanting to go back to Germany again someday. His wish was granted. They made the historic move in 2006. His new base was Vilseck, Germany. Jeremy was on us constantly to come to Germany. There were so many places and things he wanted to show us. So when we learned that his unit was deploying to Iraq again in Feb. of 2008, we decided it was time to go. By this time, Jeremy's family had grown to four, with the addition of daughter Jade, born in Sept 2007. We spent two wonderful weeks with them in Jan. of '08. The one place Jeremy definitely wanted to take us was the Kreuzberg Monastery. We brought back four heavy jugs of that beer! We have a jug of it on our kitchen counter - such good memories! We saw a lot of Germany, ate some good German food, and went shopping. We spent some time at Jeremy's first base, Schweinfurt. We could see the pride he took in showing it to us, and of his new base, Vilseck. He also took us to the other Army bases he worked at - Grafenwohr and Hohenfels. Grafenwohr is an old German Army base. There is a tower there that Hitler would survey his troops from. We're very thankful we were able to go and spend that time with the kids. Little did we know that that would be the last time we'd see our son alive. We spoke on the phone many times after our visit, and our last words to each other were "I love you". When February rolled around, Jeremy's commanders decided to keep him back on rear detachment. They needed him there to watch over the base and the soldiers' families. Jeremy was NOT AT ALL happy about that, because he had invested a lot of his time and energy in training his men, and he felt he should be in Iraq with them. Jeremy kept asking his commander when he might be able to join up with his men. Finally, in June, after much pestering, his request was granted. He was off to Iraq. On July 15, 2008, Jeremy's platoon from the 4th Squadron was needed to assist a platoon from the 2nd Squadron for a mission. They were clearing some buildings in Kn'an, Diyala Province. They were in groups of threes. There were 12 buildings that they were to clear. Jeremy, being the team leader, advanced with his two men toward the first building. The others approached the next buildings on down the street. Jeremy was the first one in. The building was bOOby-trapped and it exploded. The three were buried by the rubble. Since Jeremy was the first to enter, he took the brunt of the explosion. Jeremy's group was just 45 seconds ahead of the next group. The others ran to help Jeremy and his two men. Jeremy had no pulse, but the medic worked on him and got it going again. A helicopter came in to pick Jeremy up and took him to the Baghdad Hospital. But his injuries were too severe and they couldn't save him. The people at the Baghdad Hospital lined the halls to pay their respects as Jeremy was wheeled out. He was sent to Kuwait on a "Hero Flight". His two men, Humphrey and Mainard, will be OK. Mainard had some hearing loss and he has had surgery to correct that. Humphrey had some damage to his right arm and has had surgery for that also. We later found out that there were 14 buildings in a row that were wired. AI Qaeda took the coward's way - they wired buildings and ran. They tried to claim a lot more of our soldiers that day, but they only took one. The Army called in an air strike and destroyed the rest of the buildings. Jeremy didn't even have to go into the building. Since he was the team leader, he could have stayed back with the Stryker and ordered his men in. But that wasn't the way Jeremy operated. He was a true leader, and he made sure he was the first one in. There's no way he would have ever allowed any of his men to enter first. Jeremy had much love and respect for his men. He told his wife before he left that he's had a good life, he has the best wife and kids anyone could ever hope for, and he wants his younger men to have that too. He really cared about them. Some of his men commented on how much they liked having Jeremy for a teacher, because he was patient with them, and worked with them until they got it right. His unit greatly felt his loss. Jeremy is being credited with saving the lives of his entire platoon, as well as the 2nd Squadron platoon, because of his leadership. He is a hero. He is also being credited with saving countless other lives because of the knowledge the Army gained from this new form of wiring, which was under the flooring. They don't send troops into these buildings anymore if they suspect that they're wired. They order an air strike and destroy them. Jeremy was given the highest honors at his funeral, complete with a horse-drawn caisson. It was pulled by four horses - two with riders, two riderless. General Gilman and Colonel McMaster marched ahead of the horses. Jeremy was given a hero's funeral. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. I had hoped to get him the Silver Star, but to earn that, there has to be enemy presentthere wasn't. Colonel McMaster presented flags and medals. He also spoke at the funeral. There was another memorial service in August 2008 for Jeremy in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with around 500 attending. Senators John Thune and Tim Johnson spoke highly of Jeremy. Senator Johnson called Jeremy a "Soldier's Soldier" - boots on the ground, and a true Cav Scout - first in, last out. Jeremy was a true leader and a true hero. All together, there were six memorial services held for him. The Frito-Lay flag and flagpole dedication, also in August, was a very special one, and a tough one to get through - mostly because it was so much like the service at the cemetery - it took us back - but also because both Bruce and I are so touched that the Frito-Lay employees have literally thrown their arms around Jeremy and embraced him. Jeremy is now and always will be a part of the Frito-Lay family. We are in awe that a company as great as Frito-Lay is doing this for our son. Our gratitude goes deep. For the memorial, the Honor Guard presented colors, and Taps was played on the bugle. It was very respectful - and a wonderful tribute to Jeremy. Bruce takes comfort in seeing that flag every day outside the bin. It brings Jeremy a little closer. Frito-Lay is a great company to be a part of. We appreciate the support given Jeremy's family. The first memorial service was in Iraq, shortly after his death. It was held at their base in front of a Stryker vehicle. Jeremy's helmet, rifle and boots were displayed, as well as some items that his men thought were special. One of those items was a Monster drink can. Jeremy was well known for his Monster drinks. When we were visiting them in Germany, we put gas in their car quite often. While I was paying for the gas, Jeremy would sneak in two or three Monster drinks, thinking maybe I wouldn't notice! The last memorial service was a healing one. Jeremy's unit had just returned from Iraq. This service was held Thanksgiving week 2008 at Jeremy's base in Vilseck, Germany. There were close to 2000 people at that one. Out of the Regiment's 6000 men, 29 were lost. This was a tribute to all 29 of them. We met some of the family members, as well as Mainard and Humphrey. It was healing for us to know that those two are alright. We also met all of Jeremy's commanders, both from the 4th Squadron and the 2nd Squadron, all the way up to Command Sergeant Major Martinez. CSM Martinez called the Regiment's fallen the "unsung heroes". After the memorial service, we all walked the two blocks to the granite wall to see the names of the fallen etched in stone. Jeremy's name was the last one. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the troops in Jeremy's platoon. It was a healing time for us, as well as for the platoon and for the other parents. We hope to go back again someday. We keep in touch with several of Jeremy's friends and commanders. Jeremy's two loves were his family and the U.S. Army. He loved them both equally. He was in the Army for nine years at the time of his death. He is buried at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas'. His wife and children are living there - that's why he's buried there. Thank you for taking the time to read this - I know it's long. We are just so proud of our son. I think you can see why. We wanted you to know Jeremy a little better, and hopefully you do now. All of our fallen soldiers are heroes. This is the story of just one of them - our son, our hero, Jeremy.
Bruce and Sue Vrooman
PROUD Gold Star Parents of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jeremy D. Vrooman
Addendum to Jeremy's story: We would like to recommend a new movie out called "Taking Chance". It's about Marine PFC Chance Phelps, KIA in Iraq in 2004, and his escort. It shows the respect shown them all the way from Iraq to the place of buriaL Chance was sent home on a commercial flight, whereas Jeremy got his own charter airplane. Bruce and I actually experienced and felt that respect ourselves. When we boarded the plane at San Antonio for Minneapolis after Jeremy's funeral, we had his flag with us. We didn't want to check that, so I asked the flight attendant if they could stow it in a safe place up front. I told him that we were returning from our son's funeral, that he gave his life for his country, saved the lives of his entire platoon, and is a hero. He said "no problem". After everyone was seated, he came back and told us the Captain was going to keep the flag in the cockpit with him, and it would be his honor to do so. When we landed, the flight attendant asked everyone to please stay seated. He announced that the airline has had the privilege to carry the parents of SSG Jeremy Vrooman, and he went on to tell all about Jeremy. He said "let's let the parents of this hero deplane first". As we got up to leave, everyone clapped. The Captain came out with the flag, hugged us both, and said thank you for your son's service. On the last leg of our journey home, we were bumped up to first class. We were again thanked for Jeremy's service. Much respect was shown Jeremy and we couldn't appreciate it more. Jeremy served under Colonel H.R. McMaster while at Schweinfurt, and he grew to love and respect the man. After Jeremy left Schweinfurt, they lost touch until one day at Ft. ,Carson when they ran into each other. Col. McMaster had been assigned to Ft. Carson, and neither one realized the other was there until that day. Jeremy spoke of Col. McMaster to us often, so it was only right to request that the Colonel present flags and medals at Jeremy's funeral. The Colonel had much respect for Jeremy also, and he was so happy to be asked. In fact, the first words out of his mouth when he called us was "I love your son". Col. McMaster has made a name for himself. He's written a book called "Dereliction of Duty", and is being lauded as a great leader in the book "The War Within" by Bob Woodward. He is a Full Bird Colonel, and is now at War College. He will get his Brigadier General star soon.
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