Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa

Died February 20, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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26, of Woodridge, Ill.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Feb. 20, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his military vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device followed by small arms fire attack by enemy forces. Also killed was Master Sgt. David L. Hurt.

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Green Beret inspired to enlist after 9/11

The Associated Press

Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa recently became a dad. He was home when his son, Carson, was born on Dec. 4.

“He was so touched with his child, his boy, and the prospect of being a father,” his father Ted said.

Bessa, 26, of Woodridge, Ill., died Feb. 23 in Khordi when his vehicle was struck by an explosive and small-arms fire. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Bragg.

Bessa was born at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.

He lived with his grandmother while he finished high school in the United States, said his father, a sergeant major in the Army who was stationed in Italy at the time. He also was able to graduate from the same high school that his mother had graduated from.

Bessa spent one semester at Southern Illinois University before being inspired to join the military after the 9/11 attacks.

Bessa was sent to Afghanistan in January for his second deployment. He joined the Army in April 2002 and became a Green Beret in 2007.

“He was a wonderful little child and grew into a very wonderful man,” his mother Julie said.

Bessa is also survived by his wife, Lindsey.