Barnes, 21, was with the Army Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas. He died on July 26, 2003 in Baghdad. Barnes was among three soldiers killed by a grenade thrown from a window of an Iraqi civilian hospital they were guarding.
Spc. Jonathan P. Barnes wanted what was best for his family, and figured the military was the best way to accomplish that. He took law enforcement classes in the service and hoped to eventually become a state trooper. "He wanted to find a way to better his education and also support his family better," said his sister, Kim Riley. "He chose to join the military. He thought that way, not only would he have housing for them but that he would be a better provider." Barnes, 21, died July 26 in a grenade attack while guarding a hospital in Iraq. He was based at Fort Hood, and is survived by his wife, Amanda, and 2-year-old daughter.
"He wrote several letters and always said there was nothing to worry about," Riley said. "He asked every time about his house because we were to take care of the grass and the bills. And he always asked about family."
21 Army Spc Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
Fort Hood, Texas
Killed as a result of a grenade being thrown from a window of an Iraqi civilian hospital that they were guarding.
AP News
Jonathan P. Barnes wanted what was best for his family and figured the military was the best way to accomplish that. He took law enforcement classes and hoped to become a state trooper. Barnes of Coweta, Okla., died July 26 in a grenade attack in Iraq. He was based at Fort Hood and is survived by his wife, Amanda, and 2-year-old daughter.
COWETA, Okla. -- A soldier who grew up in Coweta, Okla., was killed Saturday in a grenade attack in Iraq.
Spc. Jonathan Paul Barnes, of Anderson, Mo., was among three U.S. service members killed while guarding a children's hospital 45 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Kim Riley, Barnes' sister, said Barnes had written several times reassuring her that there was nothing to worry about.
She said he chose to go into the military to better support his family.
Barnes was married to Amanda, who has a 2-year-old daughter.
Walleon Bobo of Jonesboro is recovering after being shot in the side and the arm near Masul, Iraq.
ANDERSON, Mo. - A 21-year-old soldier from McDonald County has been killed in a grenade attack Saturday in iraq. Jonathan Paul Barnes was a member of the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment. He joined the Army in April 2001.
Barnes was killed Saturday, July 26, during a grenade attack that took the lives of two other members of the texas-based division while they were guarding a civilian hospital in Iraq. Barnes is the second Southwest Missouri soldier killed in the war in Iraq. Private First-Class Jesse A. Givens of Springfield was killed in a non-combat accident in early May.
James Barnes, Jonathan's father, who lives in Anderson, Mo., and is a pastor of the Greenwood Baptist Church near Southwest City, Mo., described his son as a "strong boy, who loved god and his country. He wanted to go," his father said. "he died doing what he wanted to do."
Jonathan Barnes is also survived by his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Michelle, of Goodman, Mo. Barnes was a home-school graduate. He had attended public schools in Broken Arrow, Okla., until the sixth grade.
The family of Barnes says they will make it through this tough time, they have to. And in spite of losing a young life to the war, his father says his pride is stronger than before. But the boredom for Barnes changed when his division was assigned to guard a children's hospital north of Baghdad. But a grenade attack outside the hospital on Saturday claimed the lives of three soldiers, including barnes.
Three generations that include a grandfather who served in World War II, and his father the Vietnam War. But while he wanted to continue the tradition, he had hesitations. His wife, Amanda, and a 2-year-old daughter, Michelle. Barnes' father is a pastor at a Southwest City church. He said with the help of congregation members, friends, family, and prayer they'll get through this. But of course, it will take time.
By Shannon Bruffett, Action 12 News Weekend Anchor/Reporter
"strong boy, who loved god and his country. He wanted to go," his father said. "he died doing what he wanted to do."
ANDERSON, Mo. — Southwest Missouri said goodbye to a quiet hero Monday.
Army Spc. Jonathan P. Barnes was killed Saturday, July 26, when a grenade was thrown from a window of an Iraqi children’s hospital that Barnes was guarding in Baqoubau, Iraq.
Barnes, 21, was a member of the First Battalion, 67 th Armor Regiment, 4 th Infantry Division.
Two other soldiers from the 4 th Infantry were also killed in the attack.
The Rev. Gary Duke, Barnes’ pastor and friend, officiated the ceremony. "(Barnes) was a leader," Duke said. "(But) he was not the kind of person that lived his life up front."
While he was in high school, Barnes worked for Duke for two years, and Duke said that in 20 years of business, Barnes was the best help he’d had. "Life is full of unanswered questions," Duke said on the death of his friend. "I don’t know what was going through his mind or the mind of the perpetrator of that crime that day. … (But) I don’t doubt for a moment that he died for a worthy cause: to set men and women free from tyranny and oppression."
Duke said that over the course of two years of working together, he and Barnes developed a friendship. "I told him he could call me anytime," Duke said. "I did that so that I could give up a little of my life for him. I didn’t know that he would give up his life for me and for people that he had never met. … For that reason, we ought to be deeply grateful."
Barnes was born in Muskogee, Okla., on Jan. 19, 1982, and was married to Amanda Fischer on Aug. 5, 2000, in Noel, Mo.
Barnes enlisted in the Army in April 2001. He is survived by his wife and his 2-year-old daughter, Michelle.
Maj. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., was in attendance at Monday’s service to represent the U.S. Army. "I’m here on behalf of a grateful nation," Van Antwerp said to friends and family. "We thank you for your sacrifice."
Missouri state Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, was also in attendance at the service and read a letter of recognition from the Missouri House of Representatives honoring Barnes’ memory and military service.
Barnes’ father, the Rev. James Barnes, also eulogized his son. "(Jesus Christ) gave his all that I might have life eternal," he said. "Our son, Jonathan, gave his life that people he didn’t even know could be free." "We’re so proud of him and we always will be," Barnes said. "I’d like (people) to think him a hero. He’s in our hearts always."
The elder Barnes thanked the president for sending his son home so that the family could have an open-casket funeral. "When we all get together, we break down. We’re just human," Barnes said. "(But) we know where he’s at and we’re satisfied."
And Barnes knew how his reserved son would react to all the attention. "The entire world is looking on this and he’d probably just be standing there with his crazy ol’ grin on his face."
