Steven Roy Jewell – Specialist, United States Army

by

U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1011-07
August 16, 2007

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They died August 14, 2007, in Al Taqqadum, Iraq, of injuries suffered when their helicopter crashed.  They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer Christopher C. Johnson, 31, of Michigan.
Chief Warrant Officer Jackie L. McFarlane Jr, 30, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Staff Sergeant Sean P. Fisher, 29, of Santee, California
Staff Sergeant Stanley B. Reynolds, 37, of Rock, West Virginia
Specialist Steven R. Jewell, 26, of Bridgeton, North Carolina

The incident is under investigation.

August 16, 2007:

Steven R. Jewell dies ‘of injuries suffered when his helicopter crashed’
A soldier from the Craven County area died in Iraq this week a month after he arrived there.

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Steven Roy Jewell, 26, was one of five soldiers aboard a Chinook helicopter that crashed Tuesday in the Anbar Province outside Baghdad.

All five died.

The military said the crash appeared to be an accident, but it would be investigated. The helicopter was on what the military said was a routine flight after some maintenance work.

Jewell was an Army Specialist with the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment Task Force 49, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

His father, Billy Jewell, a Pamlico County sheriff’s detective, said his son had been in Iraq for a month.

“He was planning to make the Army a career,” his father said in e-mail. “There is not a way to reason out why he died but to say that it was in God’s plan but I know he was doing what he thought was right and his duty to do.”

Jewell added, “Many people can debate the political side of all wars, but to the soldier it is part of what they may have to do. Before he left, Steven told me many times to make sure if something happened they all knew that he was aware of what could happen and he accepted that fact as part of the job he was paid to do for a country he loved very much.”

Steven Jewell enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with his family, his father said.

“He was a great son,” Jewell said.

Jewell said his son’s mother lives in the Dover area of Craven County.

He attended West Craven High School and entered the Army at the end of 2004.

August 29, 2007
Steven Jewell laid to rest
Specialist Steven Jewell made his final trip home as he was laid to rest Sunday at Pinelawn Memorial Park

An American flag draped Jewell’s casket as six soldiers from Fort Bragg saluted him and placed him in front of family members.

Nearly 200 family, friends, police officers, firefighters and war veterans surrounded the gravesite to pay tribute to Jewell, who laid in death beneath the flag he served in life.

Jewell, 26, was killed August 14, 2007, in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crash in Anbar Province, Iraq, during a post-maintenance test flight.

A native of Dover, Jewell was among five people killed in the crash. They were part of 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49, “Flying Dragons” based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Jewell’s family was also awarded his service medals which included the Bronze Star, the Navy/Marine Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

A 3-volley salute was fired and “Taps” played in the background as a final salute.

The flag that draped Jewell’s casket was folded and presented to his wife, Lisa Johnson Jewell. A folded flag was also given to Jewell’s father, Billy Jewell; his 8-year-old son, Will Jewell; and his mother Cindy J. Wisener.

Any family member would tell you Jewell died doing what he loved.

“He was proud to go and serve,” said Billy Jewell. “That’s what he wanted to do.”

Steven Jewell joined the military Aug. 14, 2005, two years to the date before he died. This was his first tour of Iraq, arriving August 1, 2007, after being in Kuwait for a month.

Jewell’s wife, Lisa Jewell, will miss everything about her husband, who died on their six month wedding anniversary.

“He was fun, outgoing and witty,” she said.

Lisa, who is also stationed in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, will return to complete her term of service before moving back to Georgia to be with family.

More than 70 bikers with the Patriot Guard Riders of America attended the funeral and set up a flag line around the gravesite.

“We want to honor our fallen warriors and pay respects to the family,” said Ride Captain Doug Jones.

NOTE: There will be a group burial for this aircrew at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, 3 October 2008, following services in the Post Chapel at Fort Myer, Virginia.

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