SR SOLDIER ON 2ND TOUR KILLED IN IRAQ: 25-YEAR-OLD ARMY STAFF SERGEANT JESSE WILLIAMS RECEIVED PURPLE HEART IN '05

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams, the son Santa Rosa political

consultant Herb Williams, was killed in Iraq on Sunday.

The younger Williams was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was 25.

Two Army representatives arrived at the elder Williams' doorstep, with

Jesse's wife, Sonya, around 7:30 p.m. Sunday to notify him of his son's death.

''I saw the two, the captain and the sergeant, coming to my door and I

already knew what they were going to tell me,'' Williams said. ''They told me

it will be up to 48 hours before they know precisely how he died, but the

captain said from what he's read so far I will be very proud of my son.''

Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard, among a close-knit group of friends who

gathered to console Williams at his home Sunday night, said Williams' son

reportedly already is in line for a Bronze Star after he single-handedly

pulled two fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle after it struck a roadside

bomb three weeks ago.

''The fire was so hot it melted his gloves,'' Blanchard said.

Williams said his son's unit, the Third Stryker Brigade, came under attack

and the bomb set off an explosion of extra gasoline aboard one of the vehicles

in which two of the occupants were trapped.

Blanchard, who also had a son do a tour of Iraq, said Jesse loved what he

did -- ''being a soldier who served his country.''

While details of his death remain unknown, Blanchard said Jesse was ''in

the hottest of spots,'' working to clear the streets of Baghdad of insurgents.

''He was right in the street-level firing line,'' he said.

Williams said his son received a Purple Heart during his first tour of duty

in 2005.

Williams expects his son's body to be flown to Dover, Del. He plans to be

there when he arrives.

''I want to fly home with him,'' Williams said. ''I don't want him to fly

home by himself.''

Williams said his son, who disliked school, achieved in other ways.

He earned his Eagle Scout status, the highest in the Boy Scouts, in just

two years despite getting a five-year-late start.

And he qualified as a medical first responder at the tender and almost

unheard age of 16, his father said.

But more than that, ''Jesse had grown into being one of my best friends. A

lot of fathers can't say that about their sons,'' he said.

''The way God made this world is parents are supposed to die before their

kids. I'd switch places with Jesse this very second,'' Williams said as his

voiced trailed off.

Shortly before he left for his second tour of duty last Christmastime, the

young soldier spoke before the City Council when it was considering approving

the location of a memorial to honor U.S. military men and women who died

serving their country.

The elder Williams was among those behind the effort, working to raise

funds to erect the monument in Old Courthouse Square.

''I look forward to telling my comrades-in-arms what my city is going to

do,'' Jesse Williams proudly told the council.

The older Williams recounted those words Sunday night.

''Jesse thought he would come down and talk about it and now his name is

going to be in it. It's just eerie,'' Williams said.

Besides his father, Jesse Williams is survived by his wife, Sonya, his

11-month-old daughter Amaya and his mother, Janice Leonnie, of Arizona.

You can reach Staff Writer Mike McCoy at 521-5276 or

mike.mccoy@pressdemocrat.com.