Mesa GI dies after vehicle bombing in Iraq

Family and friends remember Army Sgt. Jason L. Merrill as modest, good-natured and quiet — a man who wouldn’t want the fuss of television cameras and reporters.

But on Friday afternoon, the front yard of his family’s east Mesa home was abuzz with news media as Merrill’s mother, Wanda Sue, and his best friend, Anthony Farquer, stood on the lawn, their arms around one another.

Her son, Merrill said, “wouldn’t have liked to see tears — only good remembrances and smiles.”

The U.S. Department of Defense reported that the 22-year-old Merrill and another soldier died Sunday in Baghdad of injuries from a bomb detonated near their vehicle during combat.

“All he wanted was to make people happy. He was always smiling,” Farquer said, fighting back emotion.

Farquer said he and Merrill had been best friends since childhood and talked often of living near one another as they grew old, and of raising their families together. As Farquer spoke, his wife and young son waited nearby in the shade of the front porch. In a recent phone conversation with Farquer, Merrill had told his friend how excited he was to come back and play “uncle.”

Merrill had wanted to be a pediatrician, Farquer said.

The two friends joined the military at the same time four years ago. Merrill didn’t want to be in Iraq, Farquer said.

But Merrill’s mother said Jason found it an “honor” to serve his country and “said it was his job.” Nevertheless, she said she had worried intensely when he was sent to Iraq.

After Merrill enlisted in 2002, he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division out of Wurzburg, Germany. He had been in Iraq for three weeks, with his tour of duty scheduled to end Sept. 20.

Merrill was not only a wellloved son and friend, but a well-respected student. He graduated from Sun Valley High School, a Mesa charter school, in 2002.

Principal Joe Procopio said Sun Valley’s staff was devastated to learn of his death.

“He was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had in school in 20 years as a principal,” Procopio said. “He’s one of those kids where you hope your own kids grow up to be like him.”

He said Merrill was a popular student on campus who was viewed by staff, students and teachers as a positive role model.

Procopio recalled that Merrill was very patriotic.

“I believe he wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and serve his nation,” he said. “He came from a fine family, and he touched all of us.”

Merrill also attended Mesa’s Brimhall Junior High School and Johnson Elementary School, where his mother is a staff member.

Johnson principal Tracy Yslas said Merrill would often come back and visit his former teachers, and he would occasionally visit the school on patriotic holidays and help with the flag ceremony. Yslas said the school is planning a tribute or memorial for Merrill, to be unveiled in November. Funeral services will be Thursday, but the family said they will be private.

---

Tribune writers Daryl James and CeCe Todd and Fox News 10 contributed to this report.