My good friend Jeremy died today.
I met him while working on a short documentary for the Army National Guard. At the time, he was a Staff SGT, 46R, working as a journalist / attache in Business Affairs for the Kansas Guard. We were essentially assigned together, me being his “civvie” film production counterpart.
We spent countless of hours and months all over the country documenting life in the Guard. Early on, we were a two-person team for full week in Austin, filming helicopters and talking to their pilots. We interviewed wildfire fighters in Kansas, then just the two of us drove a production truck from there to Dallas, where we interviewed more Guard members. We walked on glaciers and mountains in Alaska. We laughed when we enjoyed a Bloomin’ Onion on the dime of the armed forces or better yet, a Santa Monica production company.
Throughout it all, and even after the project was completed, Jeremy was a beacon; he was no “jar-head” or “grunt.” He had a tremendous sense of humor, a sharp and intimidating intelligence, and a desire to pursue duty and push himself as far as he could. He was thoughtful, funny, well-spoken, and extraordinarily caring.
After our project, Jeremy went to Ranger School. After Ranger School he went to Officer Candidate School (or some accelerated equivalent of… point is, he was always in a rigorous special program pushing himself farther). Then, despite his deep frustration with the White House administration and his disapproval of the war in Iraq, he volunteered to go. In 2008, he served an extended tour of duty there, writing me and others with his thoughts on the war and the changing shape of the world. He served in Iraq as an Infantry platoon leader, and during that time he was a leader of men, responsible for protecting lives. He’d told me plainly and simply that he felt born to do this kind of thing. He trusted in himself and believed it was his vocation to serve as this kind of shepherd, and in a way shield his soldiers from a chaotically dangerous and a dangerously commercialized war.
He made it back safely, making him a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts (in the latter, he saved Geraldo’s life. Yes, that Geraldo).
He opened up my perception about many things. I envied his nobility, his multi-faceted strength, his selfless dedication, and his fervent love for his wife and child.
This picture was taken in Alaska while we were joking around. Jeremy was a great friend, an ideal soldier, a true hero, and a wonderful human being. He was someone we can all aspire to be like and someone we could always count on, and because of that, I will never stop missing him.
