Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Jarad Denton | Keith Less, father of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Janna Less, looks down at the Air...... read more read more
The 422nd Security Forces Squadron superintendent of logistics and resources hadn’t even made it to her desk, when she was stopped by the unit deployment manager.
“How do you count cows,” asked Staff Sgt. Janna Less, pausing afterward as she tried to stifle her own laughter. “With a cow-culator!”
Smith smiled for a moment, before laughing at what had become the standard morning routine at her work center.
“That was Janna,” Smith would later say. “She spread laughter and kindness throughout this entire base and her entire military career.”
A military career, and a life, tragically cut short when Janna died just three days later. While the cause of her death is still under investigation, Airmen, friends and family gathered at the RAF Croughton Chapel to pay their final respects, during a memorial service, Sept. 16.
“We didn’t realize how much she really was family,” said Tech. Sgt. Charles Swaggart, 422nd SFS noncommissioned officer in charge of standards and evaluations, as he and his wife, Tiffany, spoke during the memorial. “Now that she’s gone, there is a part of us that won’t be filled – because I feel like a part of our life was for her.”
He paused, holding back tears that were welling up in his eyes.
“But that’s okay,” Swaggart said. “Because it was my privilege, and I was overjoyed she was part of my life when she was. I see her joy, her laughter and her sense of humor in my children, every day.”
Janna’s kindness and “corny jokes” were a common theme as those who knew her throughout her Air Force career paid tribute to her life, and fought the overwhelming urge to dwell on her death.
“She was always determined to finish everything she started and she never gave up,” Smith said. “Janna was, and still is, the light in all our lives.”
From refereeing on-base sporting events, to tutoring children at the elementary school, to deploying twice to Balad, Iraq, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Janna always brought out the best in others.
“She had an incredible positive spirit,” Smith said. “I don’t think she ever had a bad day, and if she did, she never showed it.”
Smith wiped her eyes and forced a smile.
“So when you drive by our building, you will always see a light in the window,” she said. “That’s our Janna, lighting up our day and smiling at us saying, ‘hey everyone! What’s the wettest animal in the world? The Rain-deer!’”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2016 03:49 |
| Story ID: | 210247 |
| Location: | RAF ALCONBURY, CAM, GB |
| Hometown: | CRESTON, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 290 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Remembering the moments, by SMSgt Jarad Denton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT