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.
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