WILLIAMS FULFILLED HIS DREAMS WHILE SERVING COUNTRY: STAFF SERGEANT IS 6TH SONOMA COUNTY SERVICE MEMBER TO DIE IN IRAQ; NO NEW DETAILS ON HIS DEATH RELEASED

Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Lawrence Williams had his daughter Amaya's handprint

tattooed on his muscular chest just after she was born May 22.

The 25-year-old Santa Rosa soldier, who spent just seven weeks with his

daughter, said he got the unusual tattoo so ''she can be with me all the

time,'' said his wife, Sonya Glidden Williams of Santa Rosa.

Military officials informed the soldier's wife, father and mother on Sunday

night that Williams was killed in Iraq on Sunday.

No details of Williams' death were available Monday, and the Pentagon had

not officially announced it.

He was the sixth Sonoma County service member killed in Iraq, and one of

more than 3,281 American military deaths since the war began in March 2003.

''He fulfilled his destiny and his dreams to serve his country,'' Sonya

Williams of Santa Rosa said in a statement released by the family. ''I have

never been more proud of him. He is my hero.''

Williams, who attended Santa Rosa schools, joined the Army in August 2001.

He was on his second tour in Iraq, assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd

Infantry Division-based at Fort Lewis, Wash.

In mid-February, his unit pushed into northeastern Baghdad's Sadr City, a

move military commanders described as the first major sweep of the new

security plan for the Iraqi capital.

Grieving family members and friends said they were not surprised that

Williams, a tall, athletic man with natural leadership abilities, was in the

line of fire.

''We expected him to be a soldier who was on the front line,'' said Janet

Condron, a former Santa Rosa mayor and city councilwoman who knew Williams

from his childhood.

The soldier's mother, Janyce Leone of Las Cruces, N.M., said Monday she was

still numb from the shock. ''He was passionate about what he was doing in the

Army,'' she said in a brief telephone interview.

''Pray for all of our sons in Iraq, doing what they have to do,'' Leone

said. ''He died for all of us.''

Dennis Tapley of Sebastopol, a retired Santa Rosa High School teacher,

recalled that Williams was by no means a ''model student,'' but that his

determination to earn Eagle Scout rank was proof of his ability.

Likening Williams to the impetuous Huckleberry Finn, Tapley said the same

focus on a meaningful challenge served Williams well in the military.

Recently promoted to staff sergeant, Williams achieved the grade in 5 1/2

years. The Army considers it ''exceptional'' to make that rank in less than

seven years.

Herb Williams, a Santa Rosa political consultant, said his son was proud to

have been selected for the Stryker Brigade, the first Army unit to deploy with

the Stryker Combat Vehicle, an armored, eight-wheeled vehicle that can go 60

mph but with the firepower of a tank.

''He grew up to become a man of his word,'' Williams said. ''He was a good

man in every sense of the word.''

Jesse Williams spent nearly five weeks with his daughter before he left for

Iraq last summer and saw Amaya again for two weeks while he was home on leave

in December.

''I want to teach our daughter to know her father's heart and his honor,''

Sonya Williams said.

The soldier, who was born in Billings, Mont., received a Purple Heart and

several commendations during his first tour in Iraq in 2003-04.

Three weeks ago, he single-handedly pulled two fellow soldiers from a

burning vehicle, an action that reportedly put him in line for a Bronze Star,

said Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard, a family friend.

Williams' parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and his father became

the ''primary parent'' from his elementary school years until he enlisted in

the Army, the family said.

Tapley, who had Williams in his English class, said he was impressed by the

relationship between father and son.

But Jesse Williams made no effort to conceal his sentiments about

education. ''He hated high school,'' Tapley said, recalling that Williams

would arrive late for class but not slip quietly into the back of the room.

''He found some excuse to be loud about it,'' said Tapley, who taught high

school English for 33 years. Williams would misbehave, the teacher said, but

he ''had the intellectual skills to learn if the information and the

application were pertinent.''

Tapley said he argued with Williams but enjoyed the exchanges. ''I loved

him,'' he said. ''I thought he was a grand boy.''

Condron, who hired Herb Williams as a campaign consultant and also counted

him as a friend, noted that both father and son were Eagle Scouts, the highest

rank in Scouting.

A sign at the door to Herb Williams' house says: ''Eagles' Nest.''

Herb Williams had his computer set up to make a knocking sound when Jesse

sent an e-mail and would bolt to the terminal when he heard it, Condron said.

''They certainly had a special relationship,'' she said.

Condron recalled watching Jesse speak to younger Boy Scouts and realizing

''what a leader and a mentor he was for young men.''

Condron said that Williams, a tall, handsome man who was a star rugby

player, cut a great figure in his uniform. She said that Williams, in showing

photos and describing his duty in Iraq, expressed frustration that the news

media were not reporting the accomplishments that Williams felt the military

was making.

Herb Williams said he talked to his son before he departed on his last

mission. ''We talked, and I was able to again tell him how much I loved him,''

the father said. ''I am so glad I had that window of opportunity.''

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or

guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.