Westminster pays tribute to one of its own
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

First Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones of the United States Army was a man with a love for his friends and family, a love for his town and his alma mater and a love for his nation, said his mother, Elaine Jones.

Ryan will now be remembered for that love, as well as for his smile, his determination and his service.

Ryan was a combat engineer stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, where he and his 28-man platoon did daily sweeps of the roads to search for and dismantle roadside bombs.

The 23-year-old Westminster resident was killed along side Spc. Astor A. Sunsin Pineda, 20, of Long Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, May 2, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

The pair was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

The Joneses were notified of Ryan's death at 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, when two Army officers came to the door, said Ryan's father, Kevin.

"I saw them and thought, 'Oh my God,'" Ryan's mother Elaine said. "You see them on TV all the time, but …"

1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones (third from right) was platoon leader in the First Infantry Fourth Brigade. Their job is to search for roadside bombs and dismantle them.

On Wednesday night, Elaine and Kevin were waiting for a member for a member of the Blue Star Mothers in Leominster to come over for dinner.

"We had the screen door open, so we could see (the officers) coming up the walk," Kevin said.

Throughout the day on Friday, the phone at the Jones' rang with calls of support once Ryan's death was publicly announced.

"I had to e-mail some of my friends because my mouth wouldn't speak it," Elaine said Friday.

The Joneses last spoke to their son at the end of April.

"The week before he died," Elaine said. "He said he had a really bad mission and never wanted to do another like that."

In March, Elaine had said that Ryan tried to protect her from some of the details of the missions he was sent on.

"He won't tell me things that will be upsetting to me," she said in March. "He knows I worry."

1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones visited his parents, Elaine and Kevin, at Christmas just after finding out he was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq in February.

"His men loved him as much as he loved them," Elaine said.

After organizing a collection drive that shipped more than 70 pounds of hard candy, a 60-pound box of t-shirts and socks, a box of snack food and other supplies, Elaine received four letters from members of Ryan's platoon.

"They were all thrilled," she said.

The letters talked about Ryan' excellent leadership, his smile and their thanks for the gifts.

Elaine organized the drive in March after Jones told his mother, "don't send anything for me that I can't share with my platoon."

The young man made a great impact on many people throughout the community during the course of his life. And held many of the same interests as other young men his age.

"He loved his Simpson tapes," Elaine recalled. "He has every collection of 'The Simpsons.'"

Ryan and his father played many games of punchball in the front driveway.

"We'd do this for hours," Kevin said.

The pair was playing a game once when Ryan was about 9, Kevin recalled.

"He was just amazed I could run at my age," Kevin, now 55, said.

Ryan entered the Army in May 2005 after graduating from WPI and he began serving with the 1st Inf. Div. in December 2005. He was deployed on Feb. 4, 2007, for one year as a platoon leader.

He served as a member of the ROTC program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute after graduating from Montachusett Regional Vocational School in June 2001.

A town remembers

As approximately 500 people gathered on Academy Hill Sunday night for the memorial service to honor Ryan, the town's church bells rang.

There were soft voices barely hovering over a whisper as the crowd began to gather a half hour before the vigil began at 6:30 p.m. And the last of those gathered did not leave until nearly 8 p.m.

"We are here today to honor a hero," Walter Taylor, the funeral director at Sawyer-Miller-Masciarelli, said beginning the memorial service.

Some gathered in support of a fallen solider that they'd never met and his family, while others gathered to mourn the loss of a friend, a classmate, and a family member.

Rev. Alex Ufema of the First Baptist Church in Westminster was one of the three clergymen who spoke at Sunday's vigil. Ufema, a retired member of the US Army, said Jones' legacy will live on throughout Westminster.

"My granddaughter knew who he was," he said.

At Westminster Elementary School, the kindergarten class - in which Ufema's granddaughter is in - recently received a letter from Jones after sending a box of cards to him and his platoon in April.

"Lt. Jones, at the age of 23, will leave behind a legacy of service and sacrifice for his country," Ufema said.

Dorothy and James Sullivan, of Princeton, attended the vigil on Sunday. The Sullivan's lost their son, U.S. Army Capt. Christopher James Sullivan, on Jan. 18, 2005.

Also among those who gathered were state Sen. Stephen Brewer and Sen. Robert Antonioni and state Rep. Lew Evangelidis as well as former state Rep. Brian Knuuttila, and representatives of the town.

"We live in a world that makes heroes of people like Tom Brady, but the real heroes are these gentleman," Brewer said after the ceremony.

The crowd, gathered around the town's gazebo and a flag set at half-staff, sang "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America" before standing in silence as the sounds of a single trumpet played Taps.

"Those of us who are parents never think about our children predeceasing us," Board of Selectmen Chairman Jonathan Fairbanks said to the crowd.

Fairbanks is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force.

"I believe it takes a special person to be a solider," he said. "I am sure he was very proud to be an American."

The town of Westminster has not lost a member of the Armed Services since the Vietnam War, when the town lost two of its sons.

The members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7389 in Westminster stood behind Ryan's parents throughout the ceremony. The group had organized to have the American flags flying throughout the center of town within in 18 hours of the public announcement of Ryan's death.

His lasting legacy

Ryan thought of others as he prepared to leave to fight the War on Terror.

As part of his will, Ryan prepared to endowe a scholarship from his military life insurance. The scholarship will be in his name for a student who was part of the Junior ROTC at Monty Tech. He wanted $1,000 to be given out every year to a student that participates in school activities, achieves high grades and had a positive personality, said Elaine Jones.

Superintendent of Schools James Culkeen called the act "incredible."

"He bragged about that school," Elaine said about her son.

The family is requesting that instead of flowers, donations be made into the scholarship fund.

Ryan was the 2001 recipient of the school's Purple and Gold Award for Excellence, which honors students that excel in academics, community service and citizenship.

Ryan served as the co-captain of the high school's football team his senior year after joining the team as a sophomore - the same year he started playing football. He was also the president of the school's chapter of the National Honor Society.

"He's everything we want to project," Culkeen said.