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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army Sgt. Jason J. McCluskey
Died November 4, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom
26, of McAlester, Okla.; assigned to 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Nov. 4 at Zarghun Shahr, Mohammad Agha district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire.
Sgt. remembered as mentor, hard worker
The Associated Press
McALESTER, Okla. — Those who spoke at the funeral Saturday for a McAlester soldier who died in Afghanistan remembered him as a positive mentor who successfully performed his duties.
The Tulsa World reported that more than 1,000 people showed up for the service for Army Sgt. Jason James McCluskey at the First Baptist Church in McAlester. Many held large U.S. flags as they assembled in parking lots near the church building before the funeral began.
The military said McCluskey, 26, died Nov. 4 from wounds sustained during a firefight with insurgents at Zarghun Shahr in Afghanistan's Mohammad Agha district. The paratrooper was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
McCluskey graduated from McAlester High School in 2004 and joined the Army in April 2006. He was serving in his second deployment to Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Rodney Anderson of Fort Bragg told those inside the church building for the service that McCluskey "did his job and duty and he did it well." Anderson read statements from McCluskey's fellow soldiers, who praised McCluskey's ability to mentor them. One called McCluskey "tough as a box of nails, but fair."
His mother, Delores Oliveras, said shortly after her son's death that McCluskey was dedicated to serving in the Army.
"I asked him plenty of times to leave the Army," she said then. "But all he would say was, 'No, Mom, I really love what I do.'"
McCluskey was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously, along with other service medals and awards.
Among his survivors is a 4-year-old son who lives in Coalgate.