Web Posted: 10/16/2006 11:53 PM CDT
Jerry Needham
Express-News Staff

Sgt. Jonathan J. Simpson, 25, of Rockport, died when an enemy bullet caught him between protective plates during a battle in Al Anbar province, said his father, Frank Simpson.

Sgt. Simpson was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"He was born in Canada, but all he wanted to do is be a United States Marine, because he loved America and he loved Texas," his father said.

"You had to have citizenship to join the service back then," he said. "He got his citizenship on the Fourth of July weekend in 2000, and it wasn't long before he joined the Marines."

Simpson said his son did some of his training as a flight navigator in San Antonio before training as an infantryman, then joining the Special Forces.

He said his son — his only child — is not the first loss his family has suffered in Iraq.

"My brother's son died over there in '04 in the Battle of Fallujah," Simpson said. "I guess us Texans are paying the price."

Simpson said he was told that his son was on a foot patrol in a town when he was shot.

"They've got these metal plates in their armor," he said. "It was a bad-luck deal. The bullet went right between the plates."

Simpson said his son grew up in Quebec with his mother, Johanna Taquette, but moved to Texas as soon as he could.

"He loved Texas," his father said. "He liked the fishing, the hunting, most of all the people."

Sgt. Simpson's body has been flown to Dover, Del., where paperwork is being completed for transfer to Canada for burial.

"He loved Padre Island and surfing," Simpson said. "He was a good kid. He went for one year to Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. He made the dean's list."

http://www.caller.com

By Beth Wilson
Caller-Times October 17, 2006

Simpson, who was assigned to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., left for Iraq on Sept. 27, according to his father, Frank Simpson of Rockport, who visited him the day he left.

The elder Simpson said military officials told him his son, who was in the special forces, was on foot patrol when his unit was fired upon by insurgents.

Jonathan Simpson was born in Quebec, where his mother still resides, but he lived with his father before he enlisted in the Marines in 2001. Simpson said his son had dual citizenship. Jonathan Simpson's cousin, Abraham Simpson, was killed in 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq. Photos of them in full dress uniform are displayed side-by-side at the Rockport Wal-Mart, where they share a wall with other local military personnel.

Frank Simpson said his son saw those photos during one of his visits from California.

"I watched him and he looked at every face - that's a Marine," Simpson said, adding that his son, who once was on the dean's list at Del Mar College, had dreams of owning land in the Coastal Bend after he finished his service. "He loved his country, he loved Texas. He was a good soldier."

Simpson said services likely will be in Quebec.

Fellow Marine Brad Kealiher, who lives in Wisconsin, met Jonathan Simpson in San Antonio where they were stationed in 2002.

"He was a little different, being that he grew up in Canada, but the first thing I noticed was he was smart with bookwork and math," said Kealiher, who was honorably discharged the same day his friend shipped off to Iraq.

After being stationed apart, the two friends reunited in San Diego, Calif., in January. "We did a lot of barbecuing, sitting in my garage in lawn chairs, listening to music and talking about what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives," he said.

Kealiher said he, Jonathan and Frank Simpson went camping just before Jonathan left. During the trip, Kealiher, who served three tours in the Middle East, told his friend what to expect in Iraq. Simpson was unfazed.

"He was in the same mindset we all were - you're not really scared. You're going into it and willing to accept whatever life throws at you."