Jason I. Huffman dies of injuries from I.E.D.

CONOVER -- The quiet kid who preferred being in the background at Bunker Hill High School became a leader of men in Iraq.

Army Spec. Jason Huffman, just three weeks into his second tour of duty in Iraq, died Wednesday when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb.

Huffman, 22, was leading a squadron of young men patrolling the streets of Kirkuk when the device went off. Three soldiers died.

“He knew he was up for a challenge,” Gary, his father, said. “He told me, ‘Dad, you should see those people, they need us there.’”

Huffman joined the Army in 2003. He served his first tour in Iraq in 2003-04, re-enlisted and served a year in Korea before returning to Iraq.

“He said it was his job, and he was there to do a job,” said his mother, Karen.

Jim Woodruff remembers that work ethic at Bunker Hill High, where he was Huffman’s cross-country coach.

“Jason was sort of an underdog,” Woodruff, now athletic director, said. “He worked tremendously hard at what he did. He was not a gifted athlete, but he was voted most improved runner his senior year. He was well-liked and always willing to help.”

Ron Caldwell was Huffman’s band director. He remembers Huffman as a good student who was respectful.

“He wasn’t the best saxophone player, but he always did what I asked him to do,” Caldwell said. “I really hate what happened.”

Gary says the U.S. should keep fighting, despite his son’s death.

“We can’t leave,” he said. “Didn’t we do that already? President Roosevelt once said the only way to have peace is to spread democracy.”

From the Record