Jason Corbett remembered

A Casper paratrooper killed in combat last week in Iraq was remembered Monday for his constant smile and enthusiasm for the outdoors.

Spc. Jason J. Corbett, 23, died Jan. 15 from injuries he sustained when his patrol came under enemy small-arms fire in Karmah, Iraq. The city is in the Anbar Province, an area known for its insurgent activity.

Corbett deployed to Iraq in the fall, said Army Public Affairs Officer Major Kirk Gohlke. The infantryman had served in the Army since May 2004.

"Jason was proud to serve his country," his mother, Megan Schafer, said in a written statement released Monday afternoon by the Wyoming National Guard.

"He was such a strong person and a hard worker. It didn't matter what the task was, if it needed to be done and Jason was the one who had to do it, he did whatever he had to do to make it happen."

Corbett attended Casper's Kelly Walsh High School. His name then was Jason Vantrease; he changed it in 2004. Teachers there remembered him as a hard-working and likeable student who ran track, studied Latin and loved science.

"The first thing that comes to mind is he had the biggest, friendliest smiles," said Mark Hileman, the school's assistant boys track coach. "That is the way he was. I rarely saw him without it."

Corbett enjoyed sports and the outdoors, and competed on the high school's track team.

"He was a skier and a snowboarder," Hileman said. "Any outdoor activity, he was pretty much involved in."

Corbett was also a great teammate and leader.

"He could just walk up to anybody and get along with them," Hileman said. "He just had that ability to click with whoever's personality."

Corbett's interest in the military didn't begin to flourish until the latter part of his senior year of high school, Hileman said.

His death has left the people who knew him struggling with the loss.

"It's tough to deal with a young person losing their life," said Sandy Sherman, his high school Latin teacher. "We are all appreciative of what he has done for his country."

Corbett wasn't just an athlete. He also participated in Latin competitions.

"He was always the most polite student," Sherman said.

Before his senior year of high school, Corbett and some of his classmates visited Italy and Greece. In Athens, he had a friend time him as he ran around the ancient Olympic stadium, Sherman said. It was typical of her student, who was always open to new experiences.

"He had read so much about the Romans and the Greeks," she said. "He wanted to see what it was like."

Corbett graduated high school in 2001 and studied biology at Casper College until December 2003.

The following spring, he joined the Army, and that November, was assigned to Ford Richardson in Alaska. He was part of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson.

While in Alaska, he met his fiancee, Amanda. The couple planned to marry sometime after he returned from Iraq.

Services at Casper's First Christian Church are pending.

From the Tribune

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