Army Cpl. Jeremy M. Loveless

Died May 29, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Estacada, Ore.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed May 29 when his Stryker came under enemy small-arms fire during combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.

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Medic volunteered for dangerous lookout job

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Army medic Jeremy Loveless was not supposed to be outside the protection of his Stryker vehicle while it patrolled a volatile city in Iraq, but volunteered anyway for the dangerous job as lookout, military officials said at his memorial service on Monday.

Loveless died on Memorial Day while watching for suspicious vehicles as U.S. soldiers cordoned off a search area in Mosul, Iraq.

Loveless was remembered at a service at Fort Wainwright as a medic who was willing to take on any task to protect fellow soldiers, including voluntarily manning the gunner position. Normally, medics ride in the belly of the Stryker, waiting for a call to treat injured soldiers or civilians.

“I should not have let him in the hatch; he was a medic,” wrote a commander of Alpha Co., in a letter that was read at the service. “But he stood in the hatch ... because he demanded to.”

Loveless, 25 from Estacada, Ore., enlisted in the Army in October 2004 and was assigned last summer to the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Wainwright. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment’s Medical Platoon.

He helped treat soldiers, Iraqi security forces, Iraqi civilians and detainees, officials said.

“Cpl. Loveless didn’t just prove himself to a platoon once, he proved himself to 10 platoons,” said Capt. Christopher Terhune.

Fellow soldiers knew Loveless as a man who adored his wife and 4-year-old daughter, Chloe.

“He had a gleam in his eye that spoke volumes about him,” Staff Sgt. Terrance Carter said.

Melissa Loveless said last week that her husband joined the Army to train as a medic and was preparing to attend a civilian paramedic school. He also volunteered for the Estacada Fire Department.

— Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner