Hometown: Davenport, IA
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: April 10, 2009 - KIA in Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Age: 20
Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011

Jason Pautsch grew up in Davenport, Iowa—one of the “Quad Cities” on the Mississippi River where it forms the Iowa-Illinois border. He was the second-oldest son of David Pautsch and Teri Johnson, with older brother Jared and younger siblings Jacob, Jenna, and Josef.

Jason was home-schooled until the 5th grade, then attended Wood Junior High and Davenport North High School, graduating a semester early in 2006. As a teenager, Pautsch had a job with K’s Merchandise and The Green Thumbers, a Davenport landscaping company.

Friends and family describe Jason as an adventurous outdoorsman and thrill-seeker. In high school, he was a football player and wrestler. In 2003 his life was changed when he experienced a serious BMX biking accident that he feared would end his life. An emergency room prayer sparked a life-long commitment to his Christian faith.

Following high school, Jason Pautsch enlisted in the United States Army in January 2007 and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Infantry Basic Training. Pautsch’s father was an Army Veteran, and his older brother Jared served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

For a time, brothers Jared and Jason were stationed together at Fort Benning for Airborne School. Jared recalls that he and Jason would sneak out of their separate barracks after curfew, rappelling out the windows so they could watch episodes of “The Family Guy” on Jason’s laptop.

After completing Airborne training in June 2007, Jason Pautsch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based in Fort Carson, Colorado.

He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in September 2008. As Jason prepared to leave, he handed the keys to his truck to his younger brother Jacob and said, “Just take good care of it.”

Pautsch loved being a soldier and told his family he was seriously considering re-enlisting in the Army. His father recalled Jason saying that he didn’t want to sound egotistical, but, “you know, Dad, I’m really good at this.”

Promoted to corporal, Pautsch’s 1st Battalion was stationed in Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. On April 10, 2009, he was a squad leader as a convoy prepared to leave Forward Operating Base Marez.

A terrorist suicide bomber drove a truck filled with 20,000 pounds of explosives to the base’s gate and exchanged fire with Iraqi police and with the American convoy.

The truck detonated near the last convoy vehicle, leaving a 60-foot crater in the ground and killing five U.S. soldiers: Staff Sergeant Gary L. Woods, 24, of Lebanon Junction, Kentucky; Sergeant First Class Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, California; Sergeant Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis, Missouri; Army Private First Class Bryce E. Gaultier, 22, from Cyprus, California, and Corporal Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa.

An investigation later revealed that the leader of a Tunisian terrorist network living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada had planned the attack and instructed the suicide bombers.

Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch gave “the last full measure of devotion” to his country at the age of 20, on April 10, 2009—Good Friday. For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart.

Cpl. Pautsch was laid to rest near his hometown—with full military honors—at Rock Island National Cemetery. The Veterans’ cemetery is east of the Rock Island Arsenal on the Mississippi River.

Sources
Details provided by Mr. David Pautsch, Cpl. Pautsch’s Gold Star Father.
Artist’s rendering by Craig Du Mez, from original photo
St. Ambrose University—Veterans Legacy Project: Jason Graham Pautsch
Military Times—Honor the Fallen: Army Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch
Together We Served: Pautsch, Jason, CPL
KWQC: Man charged in death of Davenport soldier pleads guilty in Federal Court
Quad-City Times, April 22, 2009: Q-C soldier’s funeral a mix of laughter, tears
Fallen Heroes Project: Jason G. Pautsch
Burial Site: Find a Grave