Local Green Beret Killed

Bomb claims Simi Valley native, three others in Iraq
By Angie Valencia-Martinez, Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - A Green Beret who always wanted to be a soldier was killed Monday when an bomb detonated near a Humvee carrying the Simi Valley native and three other soldiers near Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

Sgt. Jonathan Tessar, 36, achieved a boyhood dream when he passed the General Education Development test so he could enlist in the military before turning 18.

The special forces soldier, who was nine months away from retiring, fought in the Persian Gulf War and served in Yugoslavia before seeing action in Iraq.

"He loved his country," said his older brother, Bill Tessar of Simi Valley. "He wanted to go into the Army when he was 5 years old.

"I think the most painful for me is that for 19 years, he had to live abroad in all these different countries and sacrificed many holidays and family events for his country. What I was most looking forward to was spending time together."

The last time the family saw the decorated soldier was in May when his father died.

The soldier, based out of Fort Campbell, Ky., is survived by his wife Nancy and three children.

"His family was more important to him

than anything, but his love and loyalty to the Army and to his soldiers was unwavering," Nancy Tessar said in a prepared statement.

Memorial services for Tessar and the three other men will be held in Iraq and at Fort Campbell in the coming days.

Bill Tessar said he is planning a service in Simi Valley before his brother is laid to rest, possibly in Virginia. He said his brother wanted to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery and the family is trying to work out arrangements.

Tessar is Simi Valley's fifth casualty of the Iraq war.

The four soldiers were assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Angie Valencia-Martinez, (805) 583-7604

angie.valencia@dailynews.com

Copyright © 2005
Los Angeles Newspaper Group

Posted on Wed, Nov. 02, 2005

Simi Valley soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Jonathan Tessar joined the Army before he turned 18, dedicating half his life to the military and along the way becoming a Green Beret and Airborne Ranger who took pains to look out for his soldiers.

Tessar, 36, was killed Monday, along with three other soldiers when a bomb detonated near their vehicle in Al Mahmudiyah, just south of Baghdad, Iraq.

Hours before his death, Tessar e-mailed his older brother to say he was fine but wondered if he could help Tessar's wife with care packages for "his guys."

His older brother recalled how proudly Tessar wore his dress uniform, with the numerous medals and badges pinned to his chest.

"He looked more decorated than generals," Bill Tessar, 38, said. "He was always signing up and going around the world protecting his country."

"His family was more important to him than anything, but his love and loyalty to the Army and to his soldiers was unwavering," said Tessar's wife, Nancy, in a statement released Tuesday by officials from Fort Campbell, Ky., where he was stationed.

Tessar was stationed with the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne.

Local services for Tessar were pending.

(C) 2005 AP

Soldier lived his dream to the end

Simi native killed near Baghdad

By Teresa Rochester, trochester@VenturaCountyStar.com
November 2, 2005

At the tender age of 5, Jonathan Tessar dreamed of becoming a soldier.

So much so, the Simi Valley High School football player and track runner took the General Education Development exam, and with diploma in hand enlisted in the Army before he was 18.

For the past 18 years, the 36-year-old Simi Valley native fulfilled his dream, eventually climbing to the rank of sergeant first class assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky.

The dream his life had become ended Monday when he and three soldiers from Fort Campbell were killed after an explosive device detonated near their vehicle while in Al Mahmudiyah, just south of Baghdad, Iraq.

"His family was more important to him than anything, but his love and loyalty to the Army and to his soldiers was unwavering," said Tessar's wife, Nancy, in a prepared statement released by military officials Tuesday in Fort Campbell.

Tessar was a Green Beret, an Airborne Ranger with a sniper's license and a platoon leader who oversaw 250 soldiers. The NASCAR fan's chest jangled with ribbons, badges and medallions when he wore his dress uniform.

"He looked more decorated than generals," his older brother, Bill Tessar, 38, of Simi Valley, said Tuesday night. "He was always signing up and going around the world protecting his country."

The brothers last saw each other in May when Tessar returned home for their father's funeral.

"The Army life is not an easy way of life," his brother said. "It is an amazing, selfless act to be a soldier, in my mind."

Tessar was fighting in the Persian Gulf when his first child, Jonathan Jr., was born in Simi Valley. His brother served as his wife's coach in Tessar's absence.

While he traveled the world, the ties that bound him to his hometown never weakened and he kept in touch with old friends and relatives, his brother said.

"We got into a lot of trouble as kids, and all the neighborhood knew us," he said.

From the backyard of their home abutting Highway 118, the boys would toss water balloons at passing cars.

"I was more the rotten of the two, and he got the blame," his brother said. "My brother was a good kid. Everyone loved John."

When he learned that his younger brother was killed, Bill Tessar said, he pulled his truck to the side of the freeway and collapsed in grief. He has not been able to bring himself to make all the calls notifying friends.

Hours before he died, Tessar responded to an e-mail his brother had sent at the behest of his own children, who wanted to know how their uncle was doing.

He was doing fine, Tessar wrote. The nights were spent worrying because the action was heavy, but he and his guys were helping the good people and getting rid of the bad.

He didn't need anything for himself but asked his brother to help his wife with care packages for his guys.

Tessar is the 11th member of the military from Ventura County killed during a tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the fifth from Simi Valley.

This year, Navy corpsman John Daniel House, 28, of Simi Valley and Army Pfc. Kevin Luna, 26, of Oxnard died in January; Marine Lance Cpl. Juan C. Venegas, 21, of Simi Valley died in April; and Marine Pvt. Elijah M. Ortega, 19, of Oxnard died in September.

"Our thoughts and support go out to the men and women who continue to serve and their families back home," Nancy Tessar said in the prepared statement. "We pray for all of our soldiers' safe return."

Tessar entered the service in 1987 and was assigned to Fort Campbell in July 2004. He is survived by his wife and three children. He had nine months left in the service before he was set to retire, his brother said.

"He certainly did not want to die for his country, but he was very much willing to," Bill Tessar said. "He was as much an American as anybody. He was fighting for us to not have to worry about bombs going off on the side (of our roads)."

Memorial services for Tessar and the other soldiers will be held in Iraq. Fort Campbell also will recognize the fallen soldiers during a ceremony Nov. 9. Plans for a local service are pending.

-- Staff writer Marjorie Hernandez contributed to this report.

2005 © The E.W. Scripps Co.