Jessica A. Ellis
Jessica Ellis became an Army medic because she cared for people.
"'I'm there for my buddies,' " Ellis told her father, Steve, of Baker City.
Ellis died May 11, 2008 when she the vehicle she was riding in was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
She graduated from Lakeview High School in 2002 and attended Central Oregon Community College in Bend for a few years before entering the Army. She was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Steve Ellis said his daughter had seen buddies die in combat more than once during two tours in Iraq.
"The guys looked out for her and she helped them," he said. "She trained with them in Fort Campbell and she went to war with them, and she died with them."
Profile
Name: Jessica A. Ellis
Age: 24
Branch: Army
Rank: Corporal
Hometown: Lakeview
Date of Death: 2008-05-11
Incident: Died in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device destroyed her vehicle.
Remembrances
Bill Ellis wrote:
Thank You. Your sacrifice and courage will be
remembered and will forever be an inspiration for my
generation.
Date Posted: May 23, 2008
John Hilderbrand wrote:
Bravest of the brave!! She was in a unit that is exposed to the most danger that is in combat and they are going all the time.
Our grand son is a Navy Special Forces officer who has had two tours in Iraq with his Explosives Ordance Disposal Unit. This includes going in buildings and homes first to disarm the trip wires etc. and all these operation are the most dangerious in any combat zone,
then this brave girl would go in the hotest of the combat and attend to the wounded and dieing.
Our grand son had 2 IED's blow up under his JERRV which is slightly larger but they were not using shaped charges. Another small IED went off under his HUMV but just blew up the cargo behind his drivers seat. He found the makings of the shaped charges and also eplosives recently made in Iran and I am assoming that it was a shaped charge which pentrated the Buffalo.
This a great loss to our country.
Date Posted: May 15, 2008
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Editor's Note:
The Oregonian wanted to offer an opportunity for those who knew the service member or those who wanted to comment on their sacrifice to add to this tribute. As this is a memorial site, we will review all comments for appropriateness before publication.
