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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 20, 2005 Soldier’s death hits Ashland man hard Friend of Sgt. Jacob Simpson hopes his death in Iraq is nothing more than a bad dream By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Flags fly at half-staff across Oregon today for Brenden Kelly’s best friend. "I wish he didn’t have to be honored in that way but I’m glad he isn’t just being shuffled aside," the Ashland resident said. "He deserves to be honored." Former Ashland resident Jacob M. Simpson, 24, died Monday in Tal Afar, Iraq, after a rocket-propelled grenade struck the building he was securing, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Sgt. Simpson was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Carson, Colo. He was a gunner on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. In calling for the state and national flags to be lowered in Simpson’s honor, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a former Marine, cited the soldier for his service. Advertisement "He bravely remained faithful to his country on two tours of Iraq liberating the freedom of others," he said in a prepared statement. "Oregon will remember him as a hero who stood for the values of our country and fought valiantly to protect them," he added. "We send our sincerest condolences to his family and friends and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all families who have loved ones away at war." Simpson only lived in Ashland for a short time, attending Ashland High School from February until early June 1998 and later going to night school to obtain a GED certificate before entering the Army. But he will be missed by those who knew him, Kelly stressed. Kelly last saw his best friend in April just before he re-enlisted in the Army. "I know he wanted to do something beside being in the Army ... but I’m really at a loss for words," he added in an emotional telephone interview. In an e-mail to the Mail Tribune, Kelly, also 24, indicated the two met at the school’s quad shortly after Simpson moved to Southern Oregon from Hood River. They hung out together, often skipping school to go to the Southern Oregon University campus, Kelly wrote. "I remember laughing with him, smiling with him, fighting alongside him to keep other friends safe," he wrote. "I remember drinking with him when we weren’t old enough to be drinking. I remember having his going-away party when he went off to boot camp. "Now that’s all I can do is remember," he added. "I can’t make new memories. I can’t call him again. I’ll never get a reply to the last letter I sent to him." Kelly said when he tried to enlist in the military when he was 18 to "get out of the valley" but was prevented because of health problems, he tried to talk his friend out of joining. "I can’t help but feel a tinge of guilt if even for putting the thought there," he wrote, adding that he also encouraged Simpson not to re-enlist after his first hitch was up. "I always hoped he was safe," Kelly continued. "I always hoped he was healthy. He had many friends across the state, across the West Coast." When Simpson came home on leave to visit his mother, Roberta Simpson, and younger brother, Carey, both of Lake Oswego, Kelly made a point of visiting his friend. Simpson also had two sisters, Rebekah Simpson of Glenwood, Wash., and Kimberly Bemiss of Banks. "While it’s a sorrowful time for us, we recognize what he did and why he did it," the soldier’s uncle Gary Simpson, a retired U.S. Navy submariner living in Hood River, told The Associated Press. "We’re really proud of the sacrifice he made." Kelly feels deep sadness for both his friend and the Simpsons. "I keep hoping that this is just a really horrible dream and that I’ll wake up and everything will be fine with him," Kelly wrote. "... He deserved so much more than to die like this — they all did." He was referring to the more than 1,620 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been killed in Iraq since the war began in the spring of 2003. Simpson was the 46th member of the military with strong Oregon ties to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003. "All that I have and ever will have I’d give up for him to be alive and well," Kelly wrote. "I want my friend back. I want his family to have their son and brother back. "I wish more people could have known him," he concluded. "Those who didn’t were missing out on a really great person." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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