Photo By Capt. Cheresa D. Clark | Colorado Army National Guard Sgt. Stephen Delp mourns his for his friend, Sgt. Jon...... read more read more
By Tech. Sgt. Cheresa D. Theiral
Colorado National Guard Public Affairs
November. A month marked by gratitude and remembrance of the men and women who came before us; those who survived some of the harshest conditions imaginable and helped mold the United States of America into the nation we know today.
But this November brought with it a striking and painful reminder to the family and friends of a Colorado National Guardsman that the path to freedom is crimson, and the toll is often absolute.
It was the 13th day of November when Sgt. Jon Stiles of Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, and member of the Colorado Army National Guard State Honor Guard, was killed in action. He was deployed with engineers from the Louisiana Army National Guard, helping clear deadly explosives from a road in Afghanistan, when his last breath was stolen from him by a violent act of terrorism.
It was unseasonably warm that day in Colorado, when Stiles' wife Launa was notified. Three members of the Colorado National Guard family, Air National Guard Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards, the Adjutant General of Colorado; Army National Guard State Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Andy Meverden; and Sgt. 1st Class Jeanine Williams, a casualty assistance officer, carried the burden of telling Launa her husband's life had ended.
On Nov. 18, Jon and Launa Stiles would have celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary. Instead, the new widow spent that day planning her husband's funeral.
The following day, a quiet ceremony marked Sgt. Jon Stiles' return home. As his flag-draped coffin was lowered off a chartered jet at Buckley Air Force Base, in Aurora, Colo., hundreds of family members, friends and fellow Guardsmen came face-to-face with the tangible reality that this Soldier would not walk among them again.
Although many of those Guard members – Soldiers and Airmen alike – never knew Stiles, that fact didn't stand in their way. Their tears flowed unabashed; symbolic of their profound understanding of the sacrifice this hero made in order to ensure the battle for freedom is won.
Though the sun soared high in the sky, a bitter breeze penetrated Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Nov. 21. Flocks of geese punctuated the air, calling out as if sounding their own memories of Stiles.
Stiles' fellow Honor Guardsmen posted the colors. Silently, they carried his casket to a shelter, then folded the American flag that had draped over him. The colors that had had adorned him throughout his journey home were folded and presented to his family in honor and remembrance of this man, who gave his life in defense of freedom.
Sgt. Jon Stiles couldn't respond when 1st Sgt. Ed Schwaigert conducted roll call. He couldn't stand and salute when the firing squad from the 157th Field Artillery fired the rifle volley. And he couldn't render honors when Army Staff Sgt. Leonard Fahrni played Taps. Instead, the Soldier rested, safe in the land he loved.
It was the 13th day of November when Sgt. Jon Stiles took his last breath. Eight days later, he was laid to rest. A Soldier, a Marine, a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle and a friend. A hero among many. A hero forevermore.
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2008 12:36 |
| Story ID: | 26787 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 392 |
| Downloads: | 330 |
This work, Eight days in November: Honoring a hero's sacrifice, by Capt. Cheresa D. Clark, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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