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Safety Harbor soldier killed in Iraq
By DAVE SHELTON
| Article published on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 |
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SAFETY HARBOR – A 2005 graduate of Countryside High School died July 1 during an attack on his convoy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Pfc. Jonathan M. Rossi, 20, of Safety Harbor was fatally injured when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. His father, Michael J. Rossi, said he understood his son was killed by an explosion as he walked alongside an armored vehicle.
Rossi joined the U.S. Army June 14, 2005, immediately after graduation and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas.
The soldier’s father, a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, said his son dreamed of being in the military and had done extensive research on military careers before enlisting. He said Jonathan wanted to be an Army Ranger and studied martial arts to prepare himself for that kind of service.
A parachute training accident left him with a permanent injury, which ended his dreams of being an Army Ranger.
Jonathan Rossi never spoke much about his deployment, his father said.
“He never really said anything about the situation over there,” Rossi said. “He basically believed he was there to do a job that he was very passionate about. He loved what he was doing.”
The elder Rossi said, “At first, I had my reservations about him going over there but after I saw how serious and how dedicated he was I supported him 100 percent.”
Rossi said he was conflicted now, as a retired military man versus the father of a dead son, over his own feelings about the war.
Rossi said his son recently planned to join the CIA after his tour of duty was over. And, the father said, he just learned that his son had planned to ask a long-time family friend to marry him when he returned from Iraq. He said the young lady just learned of his son’s plans after he was killed.
According to the public affairs office at Fort Bliss, Rossi was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously. A memorial service for Rossi and several other members of his unit killed recently is scheduled at Fort Bliss on July 18.
The father said he expects to have his son buried in the Bushnell National Cemetery next to the young man’s mother who died in 1997 of breast cancer. The dead GI leaves seven brothers and sisters.
Michael Rossi said his son was a reserved and quiet man with a small circle of friends. He added that his son was a gifted artist and had designed all of the tattoos that he wore. He said his son also drew the design for his unit’s emblem in Iraq.
An Army spokesman said Rossi is the 18th member of his unit killed since the war began.
The 4th Brigade 1st Cavalry has sent about 4,000 soldiers to Baghdad and the Nineveh Province in northern Iraq to perform stability and security operations, according to the Army spokesman. They have helped build roads and buildings, rooted out insurgents and their weapons and are training Iraqi soldiers, he said.
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Article published on Wednesday, July 4, 2007
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