Army Pfc. Jason M. Meyer

Died April 8, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Swartz Creek, Mich.; assigned to B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed in action in Iraq.

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Eight days after celebrating his first wedding anniversary from afar, Army Pfc. Jason Meyer of Howell, Mich., was killed in action in Iraq.

His wife, Melissa, 19, was being strong as she and her family fought through their grief.

“There’s moments when it’s very difficult and others when it’s only a little difficult,” said Melissa’s father, John Arnould of Swartz Creek.

Meyer, 23, died April 8 when the armored personnel carrier he was riding in took enemy fire.

Meyer’s mother, Kathy Worthington, said she last heard from him on Valentine’s Day in a phone call from Kuwait City. She said the worry and fear came mostly from her, and he sought to reassure her. “He was always upbeat and happy. He was always a great kid.”

Meyer graduated from Howell High School in 1999 and worked construction jobs. He joined the Army in 2001, and married Melissa on March 30, 2002.

“He couldn’t wait to return to his wife, return to his family,” said Tom Wickham, an uncle. “But he also knew he had an obligation as a soldier.”

— USA Today and The Associated Press

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Howell soldier latest from Michigan to die in Iraq war

Army Pfc. Jason Meyer, of Howell, Mich., had just celebrated his first year of marriage and had plans to start a family.

On April 8 his family was notified he’d been killed during the war in Iraq.

Meyer, 23, was killed April 8 when his personnel carrier took fire, his mother-in-law said the next day. He was based in Fort Stewart, Ga., where he lived with his wife Melissa, 20.

“He died doing what he wanted to do. He felt very strongly about the service,” said Meyer’s mother-in-law Connie Arnould of Swartz Creek.

Arnould said Meyer married her daughter on March 30, 2002, but the couple had known each other for several years through a Masonic youth group. She said Meyer also lived with her family for a time before the marriage.

Meyer graduated from Howell High School in 1999 and joined the Army in 2001. He and his wife moved to Georgia shortly after the wedding, Arnould said.

Arnould’s brother, Steven Cousino, described Meyer as an “always happy-go-lucky, smiley kind of guy.”

“He was a great kid,” Cousino said.

Meyer worked in construction and built decks for family members, Arnould said. He loved the outdoors, including hunting, and the family often went on motorcycle trips, she said.

He also dedicated himself to military service.

Arnould said Meyer had an injured knee but tried to hide it from his superiors. He didn’t want that to prevent him from fighting, she said.

“He was going to do what he was meant to do,” Arnould said.

Tom Wickham, Melissa Meyer’s uncle, said Jason Meyer was proud to be in the military.

“He couldn’t wait to return to his wife, return to his family. But he also knew he had an obligation as a soldier,” Wickham said.

Arnould said she last received a letter from Meyer dated March 10. In it, she said he talked about “being on a beach with no water.”

— Alexandra R. Moses, Associated Press