Army Spc. Jacob T. Vanderbosch

Died October 3, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Vadnais Heights, Minn.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed Oct. 3 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. Also killed were: Pfc. Roberto C. Baez and Sgt. Bryan W. Large.

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Paratrooper ‘never had any fear’

Associated Press

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — Lee Ann Charest remembers the toothless grin her nephew, Spc. Jacob Vanderbosch, wore for a time after he knocked his two front teeth out during a wrestling match. After he got his temporary teeth, he used to wiggle them just to make people laugh.

“He had this sneaky smile,” Charest said. “Jake never had any fear and that was what I was always afraid of.”

Vanderbosch, 21, was among three soldiers killed Monday when a bomb exploded in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, near the Humvee he was riding in. He had called home to talk to his parents early that morning before leaving on what would have been a 22-day mission, his parents said.

Mary and Scott Vanderbosch said they will always remember their son’s bravery. He had only been in Iraq for a few weeks when he was killed.

“His dad asked him once what he was afraid of,” Mary said. “He was fearless.”

The other soldiers killed were Sgt. Bryan W. Large, 31, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Pfc. Roberto C. Baez, 19, of Tampa, Fla. They were all assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.