Jeromy West remembered, honored at memorial

ANZA - Jeromy D. West's memory will return to the football field where he grew up and found a sense of belonging and purpose.

A memorial for the 20-year-old Lance Cpl. from Aguanga who died while serving in Iraq Nov. 26 will be held tonight at the Hamilton High School stadium.

"He wanted to be memorialized under the lights on the football field," said Amy Schroeder, a close friend of the family.

Anywhere else this might be an unusual request. Yet family and friends say it is fitting because West's success stemmed from the game. There are few other places the close-knit rural community can gather.

West was always an athlete, playing on Pop Warner football, soccer and basketball teams. In eighth grade, he moved from Chula Vista in San Diego County to Aguanga. At Hamilton, he started out as a smart-mouthed football player who pushed limits. It was not long until the youth who played linebacker and center focused his tenacity.

Mike Schroeder, Amy's husband and West's high school coach, said the sport gave West a chance to exercise his strengths, on and off the field. Even before becoming captain, West pulled the team together, motivating them to try their best and sometimes offering advice with personal issues, Schroeder said. He was a confident leader, he said of the youth, who also joined student government.

West's father, Dave West, of Chula Vista, said his son became mature beyond his age--showing respect, setting priorities and being kind. For example, West said, as a teen he surprised him once by offering to wash the dishes after dinner.

"He was my hero before he was killed and now as far as I'm concerned, he is a legend," Dave West said. "We lost a real good man."

In the Marines, he trained as a radio operator, machine gunner and mortarman.

"He was outgoing and kind of took the bull by the horns in everything he did," said his stepfather, Ron Klopf.

The young man was mechanical, taking an interest in cars. His latest was a silver 2005 Mitsubishi Evo, which he made his mother, Lisa West-Klopf, promise to keep. The outdoors was also appealing. Fishing trips were a favorite, Klopf said.

Family and friends were first on his list, though.

His stepsister, Kellie, 22, said on her MySpace.com Web site that West acted as the big brother, being overly protective and insisting that she and her sister have his approval on boyfriends. His parents said he called and wrote when he could.

William Crocker, West's former English teacher and coach, kept in contact through e-mails. He said West would share moments that made him smile and thanked him for keeping in touch. Crocker said it seemed like only weeks ago West made a visit and gave him a big hug.

West hoped to return to the football field. He wanted to use GI Bill money to pay for college and play again.

Before West made his last tour to Iraq, he and his mother talked about what he would want if he died.

"He wasn't religious and didn't want to be buried in a cemetery or have a big Marine ceremony," Ron Klopf said. "He said, 'I want to be taken where you guys go and have a service on the field.' "

Tonight his wishes will be fulfilled.

West was the fifth former Hemet Unified School District student to die in Iraq. Four Hemet High School alumni have been killed in action since 2004. Three died since June, two in October alone. Hemet High is honoring them with a plaque in a ceremony at 12:35 pm Tuesday in the school theater.

From the Press Enterprise

Community honors fallen marine

ANZA -- At times light-hearted and at others solemn, a memorial service Monday for Jeromy D. West, a 20-year-old Marine from Aguanga killed recently in Iraq, was in the end a celebration of the life of a young man who had loved his family and was proud to serve his country.

The service was held at the Hamilton High School football stadium, where West had played many games on Friday nights as a member of the Bobcats. A linebacker and center who wore No. 55, West had wanted his service to be held on the field, family members said before the ceremony.

On a cold and bitter night and with a full moon overhead, hundreds packed into the stands on the home team sideline. Those who hadn't come early enough to snag a seat stood and looked on as the ceremony began and a parade of family members, friends and coaches talked about West.

They called him a hero and recalled how on many occasions he had been protective of them or he made them laugh.

Lisa West, his mother, spoke about her son's stubbornness, about the day he was born, about the mullet haircut he sported in his youth and about his decision to join the Marines when he was 17.

Many things went through her mind the day he enlisted, she said, "and this day was one of them." But she is at peace, West said, because it had been something her son felt passionate about doing.

"He wanted to do this so his friends and family were safe," she said.

Mike Schroeder, Hamilton's football coach, said he and West had often butted heads, as all players and coaches do.

West had "joined another team" when he enlisted in the Marines, Schroeder said, partly because it offered him the same camaraderie being on a football team did. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 also had something to do with it, he said.

"He was a leader and he was passionate about what he did on and off the field," Schroeder said.

According to the Department of Defense, West, a lance corporal, died Nov. 25 while fighting enemy forces in the western province of Al-Anbar. He had been a mortarman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

Monday's service included the traditional 21-gun salute and the presentation of the American flag and the Purple Heart medal by military officials to West's parents.

There were also several tender moments, such as when the crowd gave West a standing ovation as if he had been running down the field during a football game and when West's best friend, Ben Robinson, played his favorite song, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" with his band.

Before he left for Iraq, West had discussed with his mother and stepfather, Ron Klopf -- an assistant football coach at Hamilton who was described as a mentor and friend to West -- how his service should be handled if it were necessary.

"We didn't want to do it, but it's something that had to be done," Klopf said before the service. "We sat him down before he left. It was pretty explicit how he wanted it done."

"He wanted to go up those steps one last time," he added, pointing to the set of stairs at the opposite end of the field that serve as the main entrance to the stadium.

Seconds later, West's stepbrother, A.J. Klopf, appeared carrying West's cremated remains in a wooden box. Followed by a group of Marines, he walked across the field and placed the box on a table next to the helmet West wore when he played on the football team.

With that, the service began.

From the Californian

Jeromy D. West slain by sniper