[Ligeia]

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Second Lt. Jeffrey J. Kaylor

Clifton officer killed by grenade
By Jon Ward
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The fourth Virginian to die in the war against Iraq was a hardworking, constantly smiling 24-year-old man from Clifton who loved sports cars.

Second Lt. Jeffrey J. Kaylor was killed in a grenade attack outside Baghdad on Monday. The Centreville High School graduate was recently promoted to platoon leader in the 3rd Infantry's C Battery of the 39th Artillery Battalion, his father, Michael Kaylor, said yesterday.

"He was a great person," Mr. Kaylor, 54, said. "He was smart and he loved life, and he was dedicated to the Army and the nation. We will miss him."

Lt. Kaylor is survived by his wife of 10 months, Jenna, 23; his parents, Michael and Roxanne, 53; and two sisters, Patricia, 25, and Cindy, 17. Jenna Kaylor, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., is a military police officer who was in Kuwait at the time of her husband's death. She was returning home with his remains yesterday.

Lt. Kaylor played football at Centreville High until graduating in 1997. He went to Radford University for one year before transferring in August 1998 to Virginia Tech to major in information management and attend Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets, a military school within the university. During his time in the corps, Lt. Kaylor met Jenna, was the battalion commander of the Army ROTC attachment and was 1st sergeant his senior year.

Besides being active in the Corps of Cadets, Lt. Kaylor also was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He graduated from the Corps in 2001. A midnight vigil was held for Lt. Kaylor on the Virginia Tech campus last night, and a memorial service was being planned for later this week.

"We're all humbled by his service and sacrifice," said Col. Rock Roszak, associate director for Corps Alumni Programs at Virginia Tech. Col. Roszak, who was Lt. Kaylor's faculty adviser at Pi Kappa Alpha, said he remembered often seeing Lt. Kaylor studying in his room late at night.

"He was always smiling," Col. Roszak said. "I know he went out and had a lot of fun with his friends, but he was serious about the things in life that are important."

Mr. Kaylor said his son's greatest passions were sports and sports cars. Lt. Kaylor recently bought a red Mustang GT, and was saddened when he had to put it in storage before going to the Middle East.

Centreville High Principal Pamela Latt said when she learned of Lt. Kaylor's death, she first told the school's soccer team because Cindy Kaylor is on the team. Mrs. Latt then addressed the student body over the loudspeaker.

"I told them the only reason they have any freedoms at all is because of people like Jeff," Mrs. Latt said. "Jeff believed in what he was doing. He was very strong about his convictions. He went into this because he believed he was liberating the Iraqis. Jeff was there to do right by the Iraqi people."

Mrs. Latt yesterday fought back tears as she watched a video tribute to Lt. Kaylor's graduating class in her office. Lt. Kaylor was in almost every clip, she said.

"He was the kind of person who, when you were with him, you laughed a lot," Mrs. Latt said. "He saw the bright sides of life. He had great charisma and was a natural leader among his friends. When he walked into a room, everybody just kind of relaxed and lightened up. He had that specialness about him."

Phil Rogers, a college friend, remembered going on five- and six-mile runs with Lt. Kaylor several times a week, even during spring-break trips.

"No matter how long our nights were, we would still wake up every morning and we'd be the only ones running," Mr. Rogers, 23, said. "He had one of the best personalities in the world. Every time I turned around he had the same goofy grin on his face, and I can't get that picture out of my mind."

The Kaylor family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to Centreville High School, 6001 Union Mill Road, Clifton, Va., 20124. A scholarship fund in Lt. Kaylor's name will be set up.

The other war casualties from Virginia are: Capt. James Adamouski, 29, of Springfield, killed April 2 with five other soldiers when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq; Sgt. Michael V. Lalush, 23, of Troutville, killed March 30 in a UH-1N Huey helicopter crash in southern Iraq; and Staff Sgt. Donald C. May Jr., 31, of Richmond, one of three Marines killed March 25 when a tank went off a bridge into the Euphrates River.

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Photos courtesy of Kaylor family
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD: 1st Lt. Jeffrey
Kaylor, 24, sent this photo home to his family
in Clifton to keep them posted on his movements in the Middle East. This week, Kaylor became Fairfax County's second death in the [...]

Clifton man killed in combat
'We have freedom in this country because of people like Jeff Kaylor'

By Jennifer Cooper
04/10/2003

While many are celebrating the fall of Baghdad, one Clifton family is in mourning. On Tuesday, the Kaylor family of Clifton learned that 1st Lt. Jeffrey J. Kaylor, 24, died April 7 while serving his country. The Pentagon has not released the circumstances surrounding his death, but Kaylor's father, retired Lt. Col. Michael Kaylor, said unofficially the family was told he came under enemy attack by a grenade.

Jeffrey Kaylor was assigned to C Battery, 1/39th Field Artillery Battalion out of Fort Stewart, Ga., and was deployed in August. Michael Kaylor said he was proud of his son and repeatedly spoke of him as a hero.

Struggling through tears to understand her son's death, Roxanne Kaylor, a graphic design teacher at Fairfax Academy, said her son was not the stereotypical soldier. He loved sports cars, especially his Ford Mustang, and animals.

In an e-mail he sent home while overseas, he wrote about the day they had to kill their tent mouse. Though it was not bothering anybody and he did not want to kill it, he wrote, it was necessary to prevent deadly snakes from following.

What makes his death particularly difficult is that Kaylor was likely to be returning home in just a few weeks.

After news of his death spread, it became evident just how many people Kaylor touched. The Kaylor's home in the Little Rocky Run area of Clifton was filled with his friends Tuesday night, and many in the community have called the family to express their condolences.

Kaylor graduated from Centreville High School, where he played on the football team, in 1997 and headed off to Radford University. After earning an ROTC scholarship, he transferred to Virginia Tech where he met his wife Jenna (Cosby) Kaylor, who was also in the ROTC program. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2001.

The couple was married July 5, 2002, and in August he was deployed to Kuwait. 2nd Lt. Jenna Kaylor was serving in the Middle East as a military police officer until her husband was killed. As of Wednesday morning, she was on her way to Northern Virginia with his body.

His older sister, Patricia Kaylor, 25, said serving his country was something he always wanted to do.

"He cared about other people," she said. "The military made him stronger. He had no second thoughts about getting out."

Roxanne Kaylor said she is proud her son took part in securing Baghdad International Airport. "He would have been so proud."

"He's our hero," Cindy Kaylor, 17, said of her older brother.

At Centreville High School, where Cindy is a student, dozens of ribbons adorn the flagpole in honor of graduates who have gone off to war.

Cindy's teammates on the school's soccer team made T-shirts to wear to school Wednesday to show their support.

Principal Pam Latt announced Kaylor's death Tuesday morning over the loudspeaker. "I said, 'This is why we have freedom in this country, because of people like Jeff Kaylor,'" Latt said.

Though Centreville High School is a big place, Latt said Kaylor was someone who stood out. He was friendly, self-assured and charismatic, Latt said. "When you think about him, you can't help but smile," she said.

A memorial service at St. Andrew's Catholic Church has not yet been scheduled, but his parents said they hope Kaylor will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Those who wish to remember him can donate to a fund being established at Centreville High School. Contributions should be sent to the school care of the Jeff Kaylor Scholarship to 6001 Union Mill Road, Clifton, VA 20124.

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[Ligeia]

Clifton's Jeff Kaylor Killed in Iraq War
Grenade Hit Humvee in Which He Was Traveling
By Bonnie Hobbs
April 9, 2003

Jeff Kaylor and his wife Jenna.

In letters to his parents in Little Rocky Run, Army 1st Lt. Jeff Kaylor assured them he'd be "home soon" from Iraq. But Mike and Roxanne Kaylor didn't know exactly what "soon" meant.

Tragically, they do now — but it's not how they'd envisioned it. Jeff, 24, whose field artillery platoon supports the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, mechanized, was killed Monday when an enemy grenade was tossed at the humvee in which he was riding.

He's the first person from western Fairfax County to die in the War in Iraq, and he also leaves behind two sisters and his wife of nine months, Jenna — also serving in the Army, in Kuwait.

"It's awful — I have so much anger," said Roxanne Kaylor. "I really blame the lean forces and the rapid race to Baghdad. This was straggler stuff — the paramilitary with weapons in villages along the way that hadn't been cleaned up.

"He was on a reconnaissance with his driver and they got grenaded. The driver lost his arm; it wasn't Jeff's lucky day. But they were by themselves — there was no one else to cover them. I hope whoever set up these plans thinks about it every day of their lives — it killed my son."

JEFF ATTENDED UNION MILL ELEMENTARY and Rocky Run Middle School, graduating in 1997 from Centreville High, where he played linebacker on the varsity football team. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2001 with a bachelor's in information systems. While there, he was in the Corps of Cadets (like ROTC) and, upon graduation, he was commissioned an Army second lieutenant.

He attended jump and leadership schools at Fort Benning, Ga., and received basic training, last winter, at Fort Sill, Okla. Next came orders to the 1st/39th Artillery Battalion, C Company, at Fort Stewart, Ga.

Jenna — who was also in Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets — became a military police officer and was stationed with Kaylor at Fort Stewart. They married July 5 but, a month later, he left for Kuwait.

"When he reported [to Fort Stewart] in May, she was doing her MP training in Missouri," explained Kaylor. "When he learned he was to be deployed to Kuwait by August, they moved up their wedding to July. He left Aug. 8 for Kuwait, and she left [in early March], but they weren't stationed together."

Still, it caught his mother a bit off guard when he told her he was deploying. "I always thought [the U.S.] would not get involved [in a war] — that we'd let diplomacy take care of it," she said. "In August, I had no idea that it would escalate to this point. He was only supposed to be there on a six-month rotation, until Feb. 1. [But] after Christmas, he e-mailed me that he wouldn't be home then."

Kaylor couldn't bear to watch news of the war on TV, but she kept up via the Internet and through Jenna's letters, telling her what was happening and if Jeff needed anything. And she busied herself "living day by day," taking care of her family and teaching graphic imagery and design at Fairfax High's Academy.

Jenna was stationed in Kuwait, but Jeff's platoon went into Iraq, where it operates multiple rocket launchers to support the 3rd Infantry Division. Just recently, Kaylor heard from an officer at Fort Stewart who'd talked to Jeff's battalion commander in Iraq.
At that time, he reported all was well. Said Kaylor: "He said the boys were fine — they were all hungry and dirty, but morale was high and everyone was doing a good job."

THEN CAME MONDAY and an 8 p.m. phone call from Jenna telling the Kaylors their son was dead. "I just didn't want to believe it," said Jeff's mother. Two hours later, a chaplain from Fort Myer was at their door. Jenna was due to arrive here from Kuwait, Wednesday afternoon. Jeff will return home via Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

"It's tough," said his father, Mike Kaylor, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. "I was in the military for 22 years — I knew what he was doing. I understand it, but it doesn't make it any easier."

He said the family received "sketchy details" of Jeff's death from the rear detachment of the 3rd Infantry Division, and the Army will investigate further. "You can't make sense of it," he said. "He's the only death out of his battalion."

But he's comforted by the fact that his son was "a leader on the field" and was doing his job. "He was a wonderful person and a great soldier," said his dad. "He got nothing but compliments from his commanding officers. We're proud of him. He was doing exactly what he wanted to do — he just ran out of luck. It's an absolute tragedy."

Funeral arrangements aren't yet completed, but the family's considering burial at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Centreville High to establish a scholarship in Jeff's name.

His sisters, Tricia, 25, who works in Washington, D.C., and Cindy, 17, a Centreville junior, are both devastated. Said their mother: "They're fine, as long as they don't hear me cry." Cindy plays varsity soccer for the Wildcats, so her brother's death hit her teammates hard.

"Everyone was emotionally drained [Tuesday]," said school Principal Pam Latt. "Jeff was a wonderful kid, well-liked by faculty and students. The only reason we have our freedoms is because of people like Jeff who are willing to put their lives on the line."

Meanwhile, the Kaylors thank all the friends and neighbors who've shown them such support in their time of grief. "We all feel like our children are safe out here in these communities and no harm will come to them," said Roxanne. "This makes it really hit home."

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