Army Cpl. Jason N. Marchand

Died October 5, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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26, of Greenwood, W. Va.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany; died Oct. 5 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. Also killed was Sgt. Joseph B. Milledge.

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W.Va. soldier killed in explosion in Iraq

The Associated Press

WEST UNION, W.Va. — A West Virginia soldier was killed in an explosion while surveying buildings in Iraq, his mother said.

Jason N. Marchand of Greenwood, an infantry soldier with the Army, had called Debbie Parsons, his mother, three days before he was killed Oct. 5 in North Baghdad.

“He didn’t like it over there, but said, ‘This is my duty because I have to protect my family.’ And he had to be there with his soldiers; he said his buddies needed him,” Parsons said Oct. 8.

“He said, ‘I am going out there [on special assignment] for two weeks.’ He said, ‘Mommy, I love you’ and I said, ‘I love you too,’ ” she said.

Marchand, 26, was a 2000 graduate of Doddridge County High School, where he was a member of the football and track teams.

“He was a good all-around kid,” said Dan McConnell, who was Marchand’s football coach. “He was a good student, a good human being and he would do anything you asked of him.”

“When it hits home, it hits you hard,” McConnell said. “You don’t think about things like that until it happens, and it is a reality that you have other guys out there, not just him. It is always on your mind, and you hope that they come home. He is going to be missed by a lot of people.”

Spurgeon Funeral Home in West Union is in charge of funeral arrangements.