DOB/DOD: July 24, 1982 (Waterbury, CT) – October 10, 2007; 25 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Quarry Hill Road; Killingworth
ENLISTMENT: November 2, 2004
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 74D; Chemical Operations Specialist
UNIT: Company E, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division; Fort Richardson, Alaska
FAMILY: Born to Karen M. Lantieri (1956-2003). Half-sisters, Rachael M. Durette (1975-) and Amy L. Durette Begnal (1976-). Foster parents, Jonathan (1946-) and Kathleen Miller (1949-). One foster sister, Sarah M. Miller Greenaway (1974-). One foster brother, David Miller (1972-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with two devices, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge (Basic), Chemical Badge and the Expert Marksmanship Badge.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Sergeant Lantieri died from injuries suffered when he was pinned between two vehicles in Iskandariyah, Iraq, south of Baghdad.
OTHER: Sergeant Lantieri was a proud Paratrooper and a member of the Personal Security Detachment for the Explosive Ordnance Team. He also played a vital role in transporting detainees to the Brigade Detention Holding Area and in numerous combat Logistic Patrols throughout AO Eindhoven. He approached his job with eagerness and courage and was always quick to lend his assistance and knowledge to the mission at hand. Sergeant Lantieri always maintained the highest standards of integrity. He left a lasting impression on many lives. [GoldStarFamilyRegistry.com]
From the Associated Press
By Dave Collins
SOLDIER FROM KILLINGWORTH DIES IN ACCIDENT IN IRAQ
HARTFORD, Connecticut — An Army paratrooper who grew up in Killingworth died in Iraq when he was accidentally pinned between two vehicles this week, his family said October 11. Sergeant Jason Lantieri, 25, joined the Army two years ago and was due home in December for a break, said his mother, Kathleen Miller of Clinton. She said a military official came to her home on October 10 morning to tell her that her son had died on October 9 in an accident. “We don’t have all the details,” Miller said in a phone interview. “Our family is devastated. He was a pretty special person, full of fun, full of life. He went into the service looking for an adventure.” Military officials said that Lantieri was injured during late-night vehicle maneuvers near Iskandariya, which is about 30 miles south of Baghdad. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to Echo Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Richardson, Alaska. Lantieri was supposed to come home over the summer, but his unit’s deployment was extended, Miller said. Lantieri graduated from Haddam-Killingworth High School in 2000 and earned a business degree from Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. He was serving with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in Baghdad, state officials said. Miller said her son’s body will be returned to the U.S. in five to seven days. She said the family tentatively plans a memorial service at Haddam-Killingworth High School. A date has not been set. Governor M. Jodi Rell ordered Connecticut and U.S. flags flown at half-staff until Lantieri is buried. “I ask that we unite as a state to honor the sacrifice that Sergeant Lantieri has made on our behalf,” Rell said in a statement. Haddam-Killingworth High School Principal Charlie Macunas, who was also Lantieri’s middle school social studies teacher, said he held a solid “B” average while playing on the high school’s soccer, basketball, and baseball teams. “He worked hard academically, but you could always tell it was hard for him to sit still. He was a bundle of energy,” Macunas said of Lantieri, who also served on the school’s student council for two years. Macunas described Lantieri as outgoing and quick to smile and said his candor was disarming. “One of the things that I admired about him was that he didn’t try to hide anything. If he didn’t have his homework, he’d come right out and say, ‘I forgot to do it.’ As a teacher, I admired that honesty and integrity,” Macunas said. Lantieri was the 39th military member with Connecticut ties to die in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began in 2002. The last, Army Private First Class Andre Craig of New Haven, died in Iraq in June. Two Connecticut civilians have also died. Miller said Lantieri had a difficult early childhood with his biological family in the Naugatuck-Waterbury area. She did not want to elaborate. She and her husband, Jon, adopted him, and he grew up in the Miller family with a brother and sister. He worked a couple of jobs before joining the Army. His mother believes he enlisted because he was looking for adventure and wanted to see the world. “I think he was anxious to travel and explore,” Kathleen Miller said. After they learned of his death, Lantieri’s friends posted notes on his MySpace.com page, calling him a hero. In a MySpace posting in January, Lantieri described traveling around Europe during a 15-day break from Iraq. He said Europe was beautiful, and he raved about the Coliseum, the Louvre, and the food. He wrote: “Europe is a great place to just live for the day and the moment. For now, I will say Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen, and Au Revoir to Europe, but the next time around, I’ll be bringing Chuck Norris.”
From The Hartford Courant on October 14, 2007
Jason Lantieri, a young man from Connecticut and an Army sergeant, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday (October 10, 2007) in an accident. He was 25. Jason was born in Waterbury on July 24, 1982. He spent his early childhood in Naugatuck and then moved to Killingworth, where he graduated from Haddam-Killingworth High School and played basketball, soccer, and baseball. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Western New England College in Springfield. Jason enlisted in the Army in 2005, and he was sent to Iraq in 2006. He was promoted to sergeant while in Iraq, and Jason was due to come home in December 2007. Jason’s vivid spirit and mischievous nature left their mark. Here’s one story told by Jason’s best friend, Steve Haeckel. One day, while playing golf with friends, Jason belly-flopped into a pond on the fairway of the eighteenth hole as a thunderstorm approached. “We’re going to get wet anyway,” Jason said. There was almost nothing Jason wouldn’t try, and there was no dare Jason wouldn’t take. Jason’s contagious smile and his permanent optimism pulled him out of plenty of scrapes. Throughout his short life, Jason always dreamed big and lived life to the fullest. Jason was an avid fan of many sports, but waffle ball had a special place in his heart. His waffle ball bats, customized with electrical tape and all sorts of gewgaws, were a perfect example of Jason’s tinkering. He always had a good idea of how to make things better, faster, and stronger. Jason is survived by a large family: his parents, Jon and Kathy Miller, and his brother and sisters, David Miller, Sarah Greenaway, and Rachel and Amy Durette. He was “Uncle Jay” to seven nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind several aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmothers. Jason’s mother, Karen Lantieri, died several years ago. Jason’s many friends around the world are devastated by the loss. The family will receive friends from 5-9 p.m., Wednesday, October 17, at the field house of the Haddam-Killingworth High School, 95 Little City Road, Higganum. Services will be at 2 p.m., Thursday, October 18, at the High School, with burial to follow in Evergreen Cemetery in Killingworth with full Military Honors. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made payable to the Jason Lantieri Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Steve Haeckel, 134 Salem Drive, Cromwell, CT 06416. Swan Funeral Home Clinton is in charge of arrangements.
From The Hartford Courant on October 19, 2007
By Jesse Hamilton | Courant Staff Writer
KILLINGWORTH — Jason Lantieri was 25, but he lived two lives. Troubled youth and successful student. Ward of the state and beloved son. Soldier and charming rogue. The man who grew up in Killingworth was always of two worlds. Now, he’s in the granite garden of Evergreen Cemetery. And, for so many, he’s a prized memory. Sergeant Lantieri died last week after a trucking accident south of Baghdad. He was buried Thursday in the town that hosted his rebirth. The people of Killingworth came out, mixing with uniformed troops and veterans. The damp-eyed hundreds gave Lantieri the burial of a hero — a tragic and lofty day for a man whose childhood left him with so much to overcome. The native of Waterbury was 11 when the state took custody of him from his mother. He had a difficult start, a boyhood suspended in the state’s foster care system. But the Miller family of Killingworth soon took him in. They would have adopted the boy known as “Jay,” they said, but his mother was still alive then. So, before Lantieri was grown, he knew what it was to live on two sides of a rift. He was a Lantieri and a Miller. Through the years, he gave up neither. He called Jon and Kathy Miller mom and dad, but he still spent time with the family of his blood. His grandmother, Ann Lantieri, said she saw him often in his childhood, though mostly on holidays after his mother, Karen, died. “I loved him, loved him dearly,” Ann Lantieri said. But she said the Millers “did a wonderful job with him.” When she saw him excelling later in school and sports, she said, “I couldn’t believe this was our Jason.” Her daughter and Jason’s aunt, Maryanne Healy, called the Millers “an answer to our prayers.” He went to Western New England College and got a business degree, and Allyn Chase, who lived next door to the Millers and is an administrator at the college, said the school bears “quiet, subtle evidence that Jason contributed a lot.” But something else called Lantieri, and he decided to join the Army. Serious and goofy. Mischief maker and honor roll student. A son of Connecticut and an Alaskan, as he reported to a unit based in that state. He went to Iraq for a yearlong tour, which was extended. He was coming home at the end of this year. When news came to Connecticut of his death on October 10, two worlds crashed down. His flag-blanketed casket was rolled Thursday into the Haddam-Killingworth High School gymnasium, where he had sweated and fought on the basketball court. The huge room went silent. The casket was wheeled to the front of the crowd, and the ceremony began. Songs and prayers. Light jokes and sorrow. His sister in the Miller family, Sarah Greenaway, told how she thought of him as a modern Huck Finn. “Jason, too, never lost his boyhood spirit.” She said she pictured him on a raft in heaven. “Make the raft big,” she said. “Lots of us here are counting on a spot beside you.” Then, a sister from his other family spoke. For Rachael Durette, Jason was at her shoulder, telling her not to get so emotional. “I’m trying to remember that he doesn’t want us to cry.” Friends got on the stage and wept. Then Jon and Kathy Miller rose, and he spoke about his son’s constant reach for the next thing in his life. As they returned to their seats, Kathy Miller stopped at the casket and touched it for a moment with both hands. The funeral procession from the school to Evergreen Cemetery snaked through the ripened trees of fall, past white houses, and red barns. Mothers and children came to the ends of their driveways and waved flags. The fire and ambulance crews came out and stood at attention on Route 81. Two firetruck ladders crossed over the road, draping a giant American flag. The hearse passed Halloween decorations and kids playing soccer, as Lantieri had. Signs along the road read, “Thank you, Sergeant Lantieri.” At the cemetery, full military honors. A chaplain conducted the graveside service, and soldier pallbearers folded the casket’s flag to give to Kathy Miller. The crowd jumped as the rifle salute banged, and people wept to the notes of Taps. Friends and two families said goodbye and trickled away, leaving the funerary professionals to finish the burial. The Lantieri family went to dinner, gathering at the same restaurant they had taken Jason to before he headed to Iraq. That dinner more than a year ago saw Jason Lantieri doing what he often did, making one of his families feel as if he wasn’t split in two, working his way around the whole table, spending time with everyone. “It was just wonderful,” his aunt, Maryanne, said. “I think he wanted to please both sides so much,” she said of his families. “When we were together, he just made the most of it.” Thursday night, her family was there again, telling stories about him and raising glasses. But they still have one more goodbye. Today, as state flags return to the tops of their poles after his burial, Lantieri will be memorialized in another service at 11 a.m. His Lantieri family planned this one in their part of the state, at St. Francis of Assisi church in Naugatuck. They want this for their own Jason Lantieri, the unruly kid who found a steadiness. The man who was focused and a wanderer. Loved and lost. Two memorials for two lives.
From Legacy.com
I was lucky enough to know Jay – I graduated with him from Western New England College in 2004. Jay was in my circle of friends from the very beginning. Jay was just a great person. It’s so hard to describe how amazing he really was, and I’m sad I never had the chance to tell him. He always wore the biggest smile on his face and could make a room full of people laugh. He had the determination to succeed and never asked anyone for anything. Losing Jay seems unreal, and it won’t be real until we lay him to rest. I always said with pride that I had friends serving in Iraq but never fully comprehended the danger they were truly in. My heart goes out to those who have already lost a loved one and to those who still have loved ones serving. Jay will never be forgotten, and I have realized how many lives he has truly touched, including mine. RIP Jay.
— Kristen Roffi
Memorial at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Iskan, Iraq
Eulogy read by Maryanne (Lantieri) Healy at a memorial in St. Francis Church, Naugatuck, Connecticut. Used with permission.
I’d like to thank you all for coming to celebrate Jason’s life. Jason Michael Lantieri was brought into this world
on July 24, 1982. How do you sum up the quality of a person’s life in just a few minutes? With just two words — unconditional love.
Jason was born to my sister, Karen Lantieri, who unfortunately also left us too early four years ago. As Jason
said to me when we were at the hospital before she passed away, “At times, life was difficult, but I always knew that she loved me.” That love was also spread by my mom, Ann Lantieri, who used to take Karen and Jason on weekly outings to get groceries or clothes, and she always bought a small toy for Jason. In time, Jason started to ask for larger toys, but they were not to be had until his birthday or Christmas! My sister Lynn was like a second mother to Jason, often taking him on outings with my dad, and she introduced him to skiing. My sister Paula and I, with our husbands Bill and John, were in charge of soccer duty, which he attended with our sons, Billy and Kenny, a sport he later excelled at both in high school and at Western New England College. Jason’s sister Rachael took him under her wing with words of wisdom, and his sister Amy had the benefit of being the younger sister — with Jason, she was able to just have fun! Rachael is expecting a child and is due any day now, and I know that her daughter’s “Uncle Jason” is sending many blessings to his future niece.
Jason has three beloved cousins: Heather, Eileen, and Megan. He was also loved by Paula’s husband, Frank, and Heather’s fiancé, Lenny, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He had a special spot in his heart for his childhood friend Travis, whom I’m sure could tell us many stories about Jay.
When my sister Karen had unfortunate circumstances, the circle of love continued for Jason when he was brought at the age of 9 into the home of Cindy Maynard and Bill Albaitis, who were raising three beautiful young children. Their daughter Hope is also expecting, and I’m sure that Jason couldn’t help but smile knowing that two of his sisters were pregnant at the same time.
Through Cindy and Bill, Jason met Kathy and Jon Miller, who were immediately captured by his charm and graciously took him into their home. The circle of love then grew stronger as Jason was embraced not only by Jon and Kathy, but also by their children Sarah and David, who were in college at that time. Jason spent Christmas Eve with us several times while he lived with the Millers. On one of these occasions, when he was about 14 or 15, we brought him back home and pulled into the Miller driveway, and he said, “Aunt Maryanne, it feels like this is home; it feels like this is where I was always supposed to be.”
Jason was so proud of his many nieces and nephews that Sarah, David, and their spouses had entrusted him with. I’m sure that Jon and Kathy’s grandchildren have many stories to share as well, and were blessed to have had Jason in their lives. He was also proud of his cousins on our side, Tommy and Lia, my great-niece and great-nephew. When Lia was in first grade last Thanksgiving, the teacher asked the class to write down something for which they were thankful. Lia, with her wisdom of 6 years, wrote that she was thankful for her cousin Jason, who is in the Army in Iraq. I know that we all share her pride. Tommy, who is 10, had a special bond with Jason, and there were several occasions at the family parties when I had to tell the two of them to knock it off! Their playtime often escalated to a feverish pitch, and Jason was the best playmate for Tommy because he was just a big kid!
Jason has many friends, too numerous to mention, but we are very grateful to his friend Steve Haeckel from Killingworth. From what I understand, Steve and Jason were like brothers, and I would love to hear more of the stories that Steve has to tell. I can only imagine!
Where do we find comfort in the loss of a life that we feel was cut too short? If comfort is to be found for us at all, it is in knowing that Jason is with our loving God, being held again in the loving arms of his mother, Karen, and that he is also with my father, Walter “Art” Lantieri. Jason’s “Grandpa Art” was a Sergeant in the Army during WWII. There is comfort in the fact that Jason lived life to the fullest and always made the best of things, qualities which I know that he would want us to embrace. He lived more of life in 25 years than some people live in a lifetime, including a trip to Europe last January when he was finally able to live his dream of going to Italy. He also had a stint as a paratrooper.
The last I knew, he had made 12 jumps, and his height was measured after each jump to see what effect the landing had impacted upon him. He told me that he had lost ¼”!
I feel Jason would want us to pray for the men who were driving the trucks that took his young life. I’m sure that they are devastated. Perhaps our prayers can provide some comfort to them. May we also pray for the members of his unit, the E Company, 725th Support Battalion (Airborne).
I believe that Jason was sent to us to share his love with as many of us as possible. I feel that his message to us today would be to follow his example and to rise above any situation and find the good that can arise from difficult situations. He would want us to go through all of our stages of grief, the shock, denial, anger, and acceptance (which in this case might take a while). He would then want us to move forward and continue to spread the love that we were so blessed to have.
Thank you again for coming today to show your support and to honor Jason’s life. May our loving God bless all of you most abundantly.
Sergeant Lantieri is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, 280 Green Hill Road, Killingworth, Connecticut; Lot 113B, Grave 2.
