Bronze Star recipient dies in Iraq ambush
HOUSTON — A Texas soldier who earned a Bronze Star for bravery died in an ambush while on patrol in Iraq, military officials say.
Army Lt. Jonathan D. Rozier of Katy was killed July 19 when his unit was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Baghdad, just outside a municipal building, according to the Defense Department.
Rozier died just three days after his 25th birthday, becoming the fifth Houston-area soldier to have died serving in Iraq.
“There were no limits to his aspirations,” said his father, David Rozier of Katy. “He wanted to have a career in the military, clear through to retirement.”
The younger Rozier, assigned to B Company, 2-70th Armor Battalion, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., had earned the Bronze Star for valor during the battle of Al Hillah. Just 15 of the 4,000 Bronze Stars awarded during Operation Iraqi Freedom were given for valor.
Rozier, a Dallas native, moved to Katy with his family in 1991. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and also married that year. He and his wife, Jessica, have a 9-month-old baby, Justin.
“We certainly knew he would be in danger,” said Rozier’s father.
The last time the soldier had spoken with his wife was the day before he was killed.
“We thank God that she had the opportunity to talk with him and that they had the opportunity to talk about the future,” said his father. “That was a real blessing.”
The Defense Department said in a prepared statement Sunday that the lieutenant’s unit was providing security at the municipal building when the attack occurred.
“He loved the Army, he loved everything about it – he knew it was a cause worth fighting and dying for,” Jimmy Parker, a family friend, said Sunday.
Since May 1, when President Bush declared major Iraqi combat over, 36 U.S. troops have been killed in action, including the ambush deaths of two more soldiers Sunday in northern Iraq. That brought to 151 the number of American troops killed in action since the March 20 start of war.
— Associated Press
BRYAN, Texas — Barbara Rozier says her son told the family that he wasn’t afraid of fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom, because he would be relatively safe driving a tank.
“But when he died he was outside his tank, doing checkpoint duty in the middle of the night,” Rozier said. “And he led his men by example, so he was right out front.”
Jonathan Rozier, 25, died July 19 when his unit was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Baghdad, just outside a municipal building, according to the Defense Department.
Funeral services were scheduled for July 30 at the First Baptist Church in Katy. Burial would follow in the Houston National Cemetery.
Barbara Rozier said she finally realized her son was dead after seeing his body.
“I got to see his body for the first time, and that’s when reality hit that it’s not a mistake,” Rozier told the Bryan-College Station Eagle in a telephone interview from her home in Katy. “That’s when I had to accept it.”
Rozier was assigned to B Company, 270th Armor Battalion, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Riley, Kan. He had won the Bronze Star for valor during the battle of Al Hillah. Just 15 of the 4,000 Bronze Stars awarded during Operation Iraqi Freedom were given for valor.
Rozier, a Dallas native, moved to Katy with his family in 1991. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and also married that year. He and his wife, Jessica, have a 9-month-old baby, Justin.
“He is my hero, he really is,” Barbara Rozier said. “He firmly stood for what he was fighting for, so he was willing to do whatever it took.”
— Associated Press