Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan W. Dean

Died December 20, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Henagar, Ala.; assigned to the 561st Military Police Company, 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Dec. 20, in Bayji, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident in Tikrit, Iraq.

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Fort Campbell soldier dies in Iraq

The Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky — A Fort Campbell soldier who died Saturday in Iraq had just celebrated his wedding to another soldier earlier this month in Alabama, his family said.

The Defense Department said Monday that 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Jonathan W. Dean of Henagar, Ala., died of injuries suffered in a noncombat related incident in Tikrit, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 561st Military Police Company, 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. The military says the circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation.

Pam Dean, his stepmother, said Tuesday that the family had just dropped him off at the airport to return to Iraq on Dec. 14 and he had only been in Iraq three days before his death.

Dean and his wife, Staff Sgt. Anne M. Dore, were married on Dec. 6 in Alabama. His wife, who is also assigned to Fort Campbell, was also deployed, but has returned for the funeral service.

“He had 18 days leave and that’s when he and Anne got married,” Pam Dean said. “They had just been married about two weeks.”

Dean graduated from Valley Head High School in Valley Head, Ala., in 2001 and joined the Army in 2004. He arrived at Fort Campbell in March 2005.

“It’s been very impressive that he’s been in just over four years and he’s already a staff sergeant,” Pam Dean said.

He previously served one tour in Afghanistan and deployed to Iraq in April.

“He just loved serving the country,” Pam Dean said. “They had both decided they were going to re-enlist and he just loved it.”

Pam Dean said the military had not yet told the family the cause of death. “We’re waiting on the investigation,” she said. “That’s the hard part.”

He is also survived by his son, 3-year-old Forest T. Dean of Valley Head, Ala.; father, David W. Dean of Valley Head, Ala. and mother, Edith Delaine Dean of Henagar, Ala. Funeral services are pending.

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Staff sgt. killed in Iraq was a newlywed

The Associated Press

When Jonathan W. Dean was last home, he took the plunge — he married his sweetheart, Staff Sgt. Anne M. Dore, on Dec. 6.

“He had 18 days leave, and that’s when he and Anne got married,” said Pam Dean, his stepmother. “They had just been married about two weeks.”

Dean, 25, of Henagar, Ala., died Dec. 20 in Bayji after a non-combat incident in Tikrit. He was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Campbell. At the time of his death, he had been back in Iraq for just three days.

He previously served one tour in Afghanistan and deployed to Iraq in April. “He just loved serving the country,” Dean said.

“Jonathan was a great kid,” said DeKalb County schools assistant superintendent Gary Talley. “He was the type of kid you wanted to have in school.”

Sandra Summerford, his aunt, described him as a “very kind, loving person. He was the one that always tried to keep the peace.”

He also is survived by a 3-year-old son, Tyler.

“We’re going to make sure he knows how good a man his dad was,” said Kristy Hatfield, a friend. “He stood for integrity, and he stood for his country.”