CHESAPEAKE
Just a week after being promoted to Army staff sergeant, a Chesapeake man whose family has a tradition of military service extending through four generations has died in combat in Iraq, his father said.
Jonathan Kilian Dozier, 30, was killed during operations in the Baqouba area of Diyala province in central Iraq, Carl Dozier said Thursday.
“The details are still coming in,” he said. “I don’t really have anything hard other than that he was engaged in hostile activity in ongoing operations in the area.”
Dozier said the Army told him his son was killed about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Baghdad time.
The Pentagon has yet to announce his death but did report that six soldiers were killed Wednesday in Diyala when insurgents detonated a large bomb hidden inside a house. Those deaths came as the military launched its third offensive in a year to dislodge Sunni militants north of Baghdad.
Dozier said he knew his son, a sniper team leader, had been sent on missions into buildings “looking for caches of munitions and arms, looking for al-Qaida members.”
He last spoke with him by phone Monday. “He was doing fine,” he said. “You know, they can’t say but so much, but based on what he could tell me, I know that they were getting ready to go after the bad guys.”
Dozier said his son e-mailed him a photograph, taken on Christmas Day after his unit had a holiday meal and just minutes before he was to go on a mission. In the image, Jonathan Dozier is weighed down with gear as he stands in front of the American and Virginia flags his father had sent him.
An Army notification team came to the Dozier home Wednesday afternoon to deliver the news.
“There’s a certain degree of shock that you don’t ever expect it,” Carl Dozier said. “But he was a warrior and he knew the consequences and I understood the consequences because of my time” in the service, he said.
His son “had the warrior ethos,” Dozier said. “He looked after his buddies. They looked after him.”
The Dozier family’s tradition of military service extends back to the Civil War.
Carl Dozier said he joined the Army in 1971 and, later, the Virginia National Guard. He volunteered to serve in the Middle East during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. After 28 years of service, he left the military in 1999 as a lieutenant colonel.
Despite knowing the risks, “you are never prepared for the notification team coming to your door,” Dozier said.
Dozier blasted national political leaders who he said have not supported the troops and the war effort. “They put their own political agendas ahead of the good of this nation and they are the ones that are responsible for the deaths of every dang young man and woman that dies there, because they’ve given aid and comfort to the enemy. ”
Dozier, 61, retired after serving 35 years as a public school teacher and administrator, during which time he also served in the National Guard.
“Selfless service is something we don’t understand anymore,” he said. “Jon did make a sacrifice for the greater good. He didn’t have to stay in, but he felt like he had to.” His son had re-enlisted in November, he said. “He felt the responsibility.”
Jon Dozier joined the Army in 1997. Then he went to Middle Tennessee State University before re-enlisting in 2005.
Carl Dozier said he did all he could to stay in touch with his son. “I spent 10 days with him in Germany in June before they deployed in August,” he said. “He was home in July, and we spent two weeks together.”
Otherwise, there were “e-mails, MySpace, telephone calls – we were in as close contact as anybody can be, separated by war.”
In one letter, Jon Dozier told his father: “I am a loyal American soldier. I believe in things larger than myself and making sacrifices for the greater good.”
He was, his father said, “a good man.”
Steve Stone, (757) 446-2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com
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My prayers are with you all
I am Mary Nunnally Hawthorne and grew up with Jonathan and his sister Jennifer. They were my best friends years ago and I have just found out about this terrible tragedy. I know Jonathan was doing what he felt in his heart by being overseas in the military defending his country. This is just a shock for me learning about it almost after a year after it happened. Please Jennifer or Carl, if you see this message please call me. I am always here for support for both of you. My email address is mhsunmoonstar@aol.com and my direct phone number is 318-792-6944. I miss you all so much. I hope to hear from one of you very soon.
Love, Mary
Thank You
Mr.Dozier, I thank you and your son for providing the freedom that myself and my family enjoy. Sorry for your loss, God bless you and your family.
Condolences and thanks
This man and his family have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country and everyone who reaps the benefits of living in the USA. They are to be commended and appreciated. Without men like Dozier, this country would not be the great country it is. Let none of us forget those who have served and died. May God bless this family.
Loss of a Hero and Friend
Dozier was a great friend to so many of us. Our memories will be of him laughing and joking around. His laugh, I can still hear it now! He will be in our hearts forever. Our American Hero will not ever be forgotten and always missed. He paid the ulitmate price for everyone's freedom, I am so thankful to have in this lifetime a friend called Dozier. We will miss him!
YOU WILL BE MISSED
I HAD THE PRIVELAGE IN KNOWING JONATHAN THROUGH SCHOOL. HE WAS AN EXCELLENT PERSON. WE HAD MANY CLASSES TOGETHER THROUGHOUT OUR YEARS AT GREAT BRIDGE. WE ALWAYS ENDED UP SITTING BESIDE EACH OTHER IN SCHOOL. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, "THANK YOU" JONATHAN, FOR GIVING YOUR LIFE TO PROTECT OUR COUNTRY. YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN AND SORELY MISSED.. GOD HAS AN AWESOME ANGEL WITH HIM NOW!!!
FOREVER YOUR FRIEND,
KELLEY ETHERIDGE-BUNING
Carl and Family, your son
Carl and Family, your son was a true patriot and hero. I know you are proud of his accomplishments. I only wish we had so many more brave selfless men as your son to lead this country in the right direction. He granted his life in defense of our liberty. What a sacrifice. God Bless Jon and all our Armed Forces standing in harms way around the world and their families, especially the families of those fallen patriots such as Jon. js
Jonathan Kilian Dozier
I deeply regret your loss and thank you and your son for your service. You have it right when you say our nation’s leaders given aid and comfort to the enemy. It is like a barb in my side every time I hear them preach how Iraq is unwinnable. They scream about a very few unfortunate events and yet are silent about any of the good. The stabilization we are now seeing could play big role in finding peace in the region and stabilizing the world economy, but, it doesn’t get them elected. Your son was doing a great service not only for this nation but for the world. Please understand there are many of us who know this and truly appreciate what you and your family have given. Ty
Supreme Sacrifice
Carl,
My heart is with you. We know, as soilders, of the supreme sacrifice that is with us as we tread in harm's way to protect the freedoms embraced and enjoyed each and every day by people in this wonderful country. May we slow down, pause for a moment, be still, and embrace the memory of Jon and what he and your family has sacrificed for our freedoms. GOD's Grace and PEACE.
Glenn
WHY?
Sorry for the families loss. I really hope the men and women could return soon, families dont need that knock on the door. How many more must die, and for what? Iraq's freedom, freedom that they dont seem to want. I rather these men and women come home, and not have to die. Again so sorry for your loss.
Thank you
Mr. Dozier,
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your son's service to our country, for his protection of us, and for the sacrifices he made so that we all may live in peace.
Sincerely,
S.D. - Virginia Beach
Carl and Jon
I had the great privilege to serve with Carl and meet Jon. My heartfelt thanks to the family for their service and sacrifice. You are in my thoughts and prayers, God bless you.
Steve L.
Carl Dozier Family
Carl, I'm so proud of your son and so sorry for your loss. Being a Veteran, I and my family appreciate the freedom your son fought for and each soldier fights for daily. May God Bless you and your family through this trying time. You are in our prayers.
"The soldier, above all
"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Douglas MacArthur
Thanks you for your sacrifice and for serving our country so well !!
Rest in Peace
Thank you for your service and protecting our country. God bless you.
Thank you
Mr. Dozier,
Thank you for your service and God bless your son for his.
Dozier Family
What a blessing it is to have men like Jon who are willing to give everything they have to protect the rest of us. Please take time to remember what is truly important in your life and be grateful to those who fight so that you may have it. My heart and prayers are with Carl and his family. Very seldom do you see a son just as dedicated as his father! We can all learn from their example. God Bless.