Army Sgt. Jeremy D. Barnett

Died February 24, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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27, of Mineral City, Ohio; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Feb. 24 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained from a landmine detonation in Ad-Dujayl, Iraq, on Feb. 21.

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Ohio soldier wounded in Iraq dies at hospital in Germany

The Associated Press

MINERAL CITY, Ohio — An Ohio soldier who died days after being injured in an explosion in Iraq was not assigned to the patrol that ended up being his last, his father said.

“It was his day off, but he volunteered, even though I’d told him not to before he left,” David Barnett, the father of Sgt. Jeremy Barnett, said Monday night. “He was a good kid.”

Jeremy Barnett, 27, of Mineral City, died Saturday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He had been wounded Wednesday when a land mine detonated in Ad-Dujayl, Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

“I know he got out of the Humvee to check on something and got hit,” said his father, who lives in Mineral City, about 60 miles south of Cleveland.

Jeremy Barnett was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, where his wife, Stephanie, is a member of the Texas National Guard.

Barnett attended Sandy Valley High School near Magnolia until his junior year and graduated in 2000 from Warren G. Harding High in Warren. After high school, he joined the Navy and spent four years on an aircraft carrier before switching to the Army, his father said.

The soldier was in the third year of a four-year hitch.

“He told me he was not going to be a 20-year man who retired without ever seeing combat duty,” said his uncle, Craig Barnett, of New Philadelphia.

Jeremy Barnett had been staying in contact with his father through e-mail. In his final message, which arrived last week, he told his father that he looked forward to going hunting and fishing when he returned home.

“Hunting and fishing, that was his life,” his father said.

Jeremy Barnett also is survived by his mother and three sisters. Funeral arrangements were pending.

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Soldier’s mom: Son who died of war wounds donated organs

The Associated Press

HARTVILLE, Ohio — Army Sgt. Jeremy Barnett made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and even in death was a hero.

Barnett, 27, of Mineral City in northeast Ohio, died Feb. 24 of wounds suffered in Iraq when a land mine detonated. He donated his organs, his mother said.

“My son gave life to other people,” said Michele Barnett of Hartville.

Barnett, who served in the Navy before joining the Army, was wounded Feb. 21. He was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where his family gathered to be with him.

His mother said she made it her mission to be with her son in the final hours.

“I bathed my son,” she said. “I escorted him to the doors of the operating room” for the organ donation operation.

“He is more of a man than I will ever meet the rest of my life,” Michelle Barnett said.

His father, David Barnett of Mineral City, about 60 miles south of Cleveland, said his son volunteered for the patrol that resulted in his death.

“It was his day off, but he volunteered, even though I’d told him not to before he left,” David Barnett said. “He was a good kid.”

Barnett was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. His wife, Stephanie, is a member of the Texas National Guard.

Funeral services have not been scheduled.