Slain soldier questioned Iraq war, father says

~ Pfc. Jeremy Shank of Jackson died last week of injuries sustained during a security patrol.

As Jim Shank prepared Wednesday to bring his son home for burial, he questioned the wisdom of continuing the war in Iraq.

U.S. Army Pfc. Jeremy Shank, 18, of Jackson, died Sept. 6 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in Hawijah, Iraq. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Shank encountered enemy forces using small arms during a dismounted security patrol.

Jeremy Shank's body will arrive at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport this afternoon, said Jim Shank, who last spoke with his son in late August.

"He said, 'Dad, the worst American life is not worth dying for these people.' He was scared," Jim Shank said.

Shank agrees with his son. "This war, you can't ever say we won. It's a holy war," he said.

Jeremy Shank left high school early, earned a high school equivalency degree and enlisted in the Army in May 2005, his father said. He was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, and was one of 7,000 25th Infantry Division soldiers who were deployed to Iraq in August.

Enlisting in the Army was a way for his son to turn his life around, Jim Shank said. "He had a couple scrapes with the law -- more or less joining the Army was to keep him out of trouble," he said. "He'd finally gotten his life together in the Army, and he was very proud of himself for how well he was doing."

Jim Shank remembers his son's love for guns, hunting and the outdoors. As a child, Jeremy would march around his childhood neighborhood on Odus Drive in Jackson. "My favorite quote from him was that he called himself a 'gun guy,'" Jim Shank said.

Jeremy Shank was told he'd be promoted to sergeant at age 20, his father said. He was stationed overseas for at least one year. In November, he was scheduled to return home on leave from the Army and marry his fiancee, Ashley Hahn of Millersville, Jim Shank said.

"Growing up, Jeremy had always wanted to get out of the house. Being gone made him really appreciate home," he said.

Jeremy Shank is survived by his father and mother, Debbie, and two brothers, Chris, 23, and Nathan, 16, all of Jackson.

"He was a great kid and a great soldier," Jim Shank said of his son.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

The funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church in Jackson. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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