FAREWELL TO 'MAN OF VALOR': 1,000 TURN OUT TO PAY TRIBUTE TO SANTA ROSA ARMY SERGEANT KILLED IN IRAQ: STAFF SGT. JESSE WILLIAMS

Hailed as a steadfast soldier and a hero, Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams of

Santa Rosa also was remembered Thursday as a loving son, husband and father

who delighted those closest to him in war and peace.

''You could see he had a big heart that he wore shamelessly on his

sleeve,'' the fallen soldier's wife, Sonya Glidden Williams, told a crowd of

about 1,000 gathered for an hourlong memorial service at the Wells Fargo

Center for the Arts.

Between sobs, Sonya Williams recalled telling Jesse over the phone that she

was pregnant with their daughter, Amaya, now 11 months old.

''Until that moment I had no idea you could hear the sound of a smile,''

said the Iraq war widow.

Jesse Williams, 25, an Eagle Scout and a Bronze Medal winner, was killed

April 8 by a sniper's bullet during a combat operation in Baqubah, about 40

miles northeast of Baghdad.

Williams, buried with military honors in a private ceremony later Thursday

at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, was the seventh North Coast soldier killed in

Iraq.

The eighth casualty, Army Sgt. Mario K. Deleon, 26, of Rohnert Park, was

killed Monday by a sniper in Baghdad.

Herb Williams, a Santa Rosa political consultant, recalled his son's charm

and straightforward approach, even as a child.

''When I was the maddest at him he could always turn it around and make me

laugh -- most of the time,'' Williams said.

As a second-grader, Jesse Williams initiated his own transfer back to first

grade because, as he told his father, ''Daddy, I didn't learn my phonics in

the first grade,'' Herb Williams said.

Jesse joined the Boy Scouts late, at 16, and completed the paperwork on his

Eagle Scout award an hour and 45 minutes before the deadline on his 18th

birthday, he said.

In a eulogy, the Rev. Ron Suess of Santa Rosa described Williams as ''a man

of valor, duty, honor and courage'' who was passionate about his military

service.

Williams ''had a love for his country that was nonpareil,'' Suess said.

Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard, a longtime family friend, called the

ceremony ''a joyous recognition of a life well-lived.''

Lined with red and white floral arrangements, the arts center's main stage

held a large photo of Williams in battle gear atop a Stryker combat vehicle.

His flag-draped casket was at the center of the auditorium floor, directly in

front of his family.

Janyce Leone of Las Cruces, N.M., said she was terrified by her son's

decision to join the Army. But on a visit to the World Trade Center site in

New York City, he explained his motivation, saying: ''OK, I've seen enough.

Now I know what I must fight for,'' Leone said.

Jesse Williams' military comrades and a brigadier general attested to his

fitness as a warrior.

Kevin Mincio, who served with Williams during his first tour in Iraq, said

he was ''someone a fellow soldier could turn to when the enemy was present and

the bullets started flying.''

Speaking to Amaya, Mincio said: ''I want you never to forget that your

father adored you. Your father was a hero and he made the world a better place

for us all.''

Sgt. Maj. Andrew Mangosing said Williams was not only a tough, reliable

infantryman, but also someone who could lighten up even tense situations.

''He was just plain fun to be around,'' Mangosing said. ''If something

funny happened in the battalion, Jesse Williams was nearby.''

Brig. Gen. Clinton Anderson did not serve with Williams but recalled how

the soldier had pulled two others from a burning vehicle.

''He didn't quit. He did not leave his comrades behind,'' Anderson said.

Near the end of the ceremony, a video montage showed photos of Williams in

Iraq accompanied by the Toby Keith song ''An American Soldier.'' It closed:

''Oh and I don't want to die for you,

''But if dying's asked of me

''I'll bear that cross with honor,

'' 'Cause freedom don't come free.''

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

guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.