A soldier's letters home make a lasting impression

(Right) Jason, 8, of Westminster somberly holds a candle during a Candlelight Vigil held on Sunday, May 6, for 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones, the Westminster soldier who was killed in Iraq last week by a roadside bomb. Jason had written Jones a letter and received a response back from the 23-yearold just over a month ago.

By Caitlyn Kelleher

JOURNAL REPORTER

It started with a letter wrapped around a bar of soap from an 8-year-old Westminster Elementary School student.

Then a reply came from Baghdad, Iraq, from a 23-yearold Westminster Elementary School graduate.

Now 8-year-old Jason mourns the death of 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones, who was killed in combat on May 2, 2007, but the young boy remembers the words of the 23-year-old man.

"If he was doing what his job was, I bet he was caring about us," Jason said, a week after he was told of the death of Jones. "He was saving everybody."

Two letters that Jones wrote to members of the Westminster community have become public over the course of the last week. These letters show the heart of the man serving the United States and show what a true hero he was, said Jason's mother, Janet.

(Left) Elaine and Kevin Jones, parents of fallen soldier 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones of Westminster, attend a Candlelight Vigil. They were surrounded by area veterans and the former pastor of the family's church.

In the two-page handwritten letter, Jones described his time playing on the playground and riding his bike through town, while also encouraging Jason to do well in school.

The second letter Jones wrote was sent to the Junior ROTC cadets at Montachusett Regional Vocation Technical School and was read to the entire student body of school Friday, May 4, after the public announcement of Jones' death.

"It came in the late in the mail late Friday, (April 27)," said 1st Sgt. Paul Jornet, retired US Marine Corps, and the senior Marine instructor of the JROTC. "It made it to my desk on Monday."

Both letters described the job Jones did in Iraq - dismantling the IEDs that the insurgents are placing on the roadside around the capital city. But he also shared the duty and the honor to his country.

Patti-Jo Miller of Westminster holds a candle and an American Flag during the vigil held on Academy Hill. She was one of hundreds of area residents that gathered for the service. JOURNAL PHOTOS/ JEFFREY W. BOUDREAU

"He clearly has convictions that were there," Jornet said. "He is telling them his convictions."

The original copies of both the letters were given to Jones' parents over the course of the last week. James Culkeen, the superintendent of Monty Tech, presented the JROTC's letter framed along side Jones' high school pictures.

Jason and his mother, Janet, went by the Jones' home on Saturday, May 5, to give the letter to Elaine Jones.

"Because I felt bad for her," Jason said.

Jason went through all the emotions after hearing about Jones' death, his mother said. But one of the things that has stayed with Jason is the anger at "the bad guys."

Jason has been interested in the Army since he was 3 years old and the Twin Towers where attacked on Sept. 11.

"I was mad at the people that took them down," he said.

Janet said the letter, which Jason kept a copy of, made an impact on her son because it showed him the soldiers were truly someone to look up to. The letter came at a time when Jason needed someone to look up to, and that Jones took the time to write the letter, and to write it in terms a young boy could understand, meant the world to her and to him.

"It had just a huge impact on this kid," she said. 09 April 2007

Dear Jason,

Greetings from Baghdad, Iraq! I'm First Lieutenant Ryan Patrick Jones, and I grew up in Westminster, just a few miles from you. I went to Westminster Elementary School, Monty Tech for high school and went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for College.

Now, I'm an officer in the United States Army, stationed here on the opposite side of the world from you. I'm the leader of a 28 man platoon that patrols the streets of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

There are many people that try to make Iraq an unsafe place, so it's important that we're here to stop the violence, so people can live in peace. Right now, terrorists like to place bombs in the street, but my platoon and I find the bombs and disarm them before they go off so nobody gets hurt. My platoon has saved many lives in only the few months we've been here.

I'll be here for one year, then return to the USA. My base is located in Kansas, where you can see fields forever and ever!

What do you do for fun? When I was your age I rode my bike all over Westminster! The playground was always my favorite place!

Take care Jason and make sure to do your best in school!

1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones 21 April 2007

Dear Cadets of Monty Tech -

Greetings from Baghdad, Iraq! I am First Lieutenant Ryan Patrick Jones, US Army, and I was in your shoes not long ago. I graduated from Monty Tech in 2001 from the house carpentry program. When I was student, there was no JROTC program, but if there was

would have joined! You have all made two very important decisions so far, first to attend such a fine school, and second, to choose to participate in the organization that stands for the greater good, and to do so during time of war.

I am currently an engineer branch platoon leader in Iraq. Our platoon does many things, from conducting raids of the insurgent homes and weapons caches, to our main mission, route clearance.

The enemy's most dangerous weapon is the improvised explosive device, or IED. These are bombs that are placed on the side of the road, and set to go off on innocent civilians or American convoys as they drive by.

Each day, my platoon and I patrol the streets of Baghdad looking for these IEDs. Once we find one, we either blow it up or disarm it. Never a dull moment!

There has been a few times the IEDs have found us before we found them, but don't worry our trucks have enough armor on them to survive most blasts.

Life isn't always great, but one thing that keeps my soldiers and I going are the wonderful letters you all sent. We give you heartfelt thanks for all of the kind words.

Hopefully I will get a chance to visit the JROTC program when I come back to my hometown of Westminster. Good luck to all of you, and if you decide to enlist in the military or join a ROTC program in college, it will be one of the hardest and most rewarding decisions you ever make!

God Bless America!

1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones US Army