RIP, brother.
*
I did not know Ryan well. We were classmates in a couple of Extreme Close Quarters Combat classes put on by SouthNarc.
I knew him as a warrior.
*
That’s him on the ground, holding off two attackers at once. You can see a training knife in one of the attacker’s hands.
I know a lot of tough guys. I know a lot of guys you don’t want to fuck with if you are a person of evil intent.
I don’t know many of Ryan’s character and capabilities.
Kit has a great tribute to him over on Prevail Training. You can see some videos of him grappling, and Kit really speaks eloquently about how Ryan really exemplified the warrior spirit.
Check it out.
*
He blew me away, the first day I met him. All business. Quiet, competent, switched on, game as fuck. The dude had it in spades, whatever you want to call it. Absolutely a pro, humble, gracious.
But he’d put you in a world of hurt going against him.
I feel so goddamn sad about his murder. The guy had so many tours over there. He was one of the guys profiled in Generation Kill when he was just a 22 yr. old corporal. Before he got all special forces recon Marine gungie. How many times can you put a guy in the jackpot before his number comes up, no matter how good he is?
We ask too much of these good men.
*
I try to be a good man. I think I am one. But Ryan Jeshke was so much more than I will ever be on my very best day. A true warrior. A great example of what it takes to be a hero, and what it costs.
The world is diminished with his passing. We are all a little poorer.
*
Rest in peace, my brother. Knock ’em back with all the great warriors in Valhalla. You’ve earned your spot there.
You will be missed.
***
Namaste.
***
The Dishwasher's Tears 
scott, you honor him. it’s good to hear from you even–or, maybe especially–in this way, in memory of this man. susan
Susan-
Thank you. His death has really hit me hard. He was one of the good ones, truly.
I am so sorry that a young boy has died. It breaks my heart and you knew him as a warrior so I believe he was and I believe too that he died with honor. My love goes to you and to his family. Thank you for letting us see the man, Scott.
love,
Rebecca
Thanks, Rebecca. It means a lot to me.
i am sorry for the loss of this courageous and honorable warrior. you honor him with your love, your broken heart, these words you speak for him. thank you.
Angela-
Thank you. He really was a great man, especially for one so young. I was honored to know him, even just a little.
It really sucks to lose him.
So very sorry.
T.
T-
Thank you. He was one of the best at what he did. You all would have loved him, you really would have.
RIP Sgt. Jeshke. Thank you for honoring this young soldier, for giving him a name and a story (from a longtime silent reader).
Thanks, Pam.
I’ve read the names of the war dead, just like everybody else. It’s astounding the amount of loss we’ve piled up.
So many of our best.
Anyway, thank you.
i’m so sorry, scott. i want you to find some comfort in that you made him real to me. if he were my son i’d be deeply moved someone took the time to honor him that way.
Kay-
I lost an academy classmate less than a year from graduation, shot in the head during a domestic dispute.
This is the latest, but it feels just as bad as the first. Worse.
You know how it is, I know. how some people just shine with a light from inside? how they light up a room. How you just want to stand around them, soak it in?
Ryan was one of those guys. so smart, so good at what he did. In a hundred years, I’d never be what he was.
The list of fallen grows.
sometimes it just feels like the rest of the world doesn’t know what’s being asked of these guys, of their families.
You know how it is, how death runs rampant. In all its many guises…
anyway, thank you. I miss you superbad.
yrs-
Scott
How sad to lose this young warrior. My condolences to you and to his family.
Thanks. There’s a lot more like him. I just hate that he’s gone. He was something better than the rest of us are. I don’t know.
He sounds like quite an upstanding guy and formidable adversary. I’m wishing him safe passage and thanks for his service.
It’s insane how long our military service persons are expected to stay in action… It seems like it wasn’t even this bad in WWII as far as that particular aspect. I remember my father, who was a medic in WWII telling me something to the effect that guys were not supposed to be on the front lines more than like a month or so before they were transferred out and new troops were sent in. I may have that number wrong, but I’m pretty sure it was much less than years.
Good to hear from you, sad about the reason.
Peace,
m (aka PF)
PF-
No US soldiers have ever served anything like the tours our guys are putting in now. If you check most KIA lists, you’ll see six or more tours on a lot of guys. Ryan talked about it, the endless cycle of either being deployed, recovering from a deployment, or getting ready to deploy again- that’s all he knew his whole adult life.
I know if they’d put a limit on them, Ryan would have fought to keep going anyway, that’s just who he was.
but it don’t make it right, what we ask of them.
Oh no. I am so sorry. I wish it were other. take care Scott.
deirdre
I click on my blog now and see his face every day, it just makes me sick. Like a little wound you can’t get at to bandage, so it rubs against your clothes, feels raw all the time.
It’s just so damn sad.
Anyway, thanks. I sure do miss you, I hope you are well.
yrs-
Scott
Scott,
It’s taken me a while to find words. I’m sorry, very sorry, about the loss of such a fine young man. I don’t understand anything anymore, I don’t know why the fuck we are sending our soldiers to this remote, tribal nation. It feels like Vietnam with rocks instead of jungle to me. So many soldiers sent back over and over again. I went to the military times web site and looked at faces, names and the numbing numbers of fallen soldiers and just cried. This is insanity. And the suicide numbers for returning soldiers is beyond insanity. 32 in july alone, more dead by their own hand upon returning to this world than kia in the entire Afghan conflict. We keep putting them in harm’s way and then don’t budget the mental health resources to support them when they get back. I can’t imagine trying to adjust after their tour. I’m so sorry for all of this. It’s too much to take in, but I feel the least I can do is pay attention, read the stories, pick at the scab on my heart. It’s not much, but what can a sane person do against this insanity? Bear witness?
My son turned 18 last week, and his selective service card came in the mail a few days later. I don’t know how to process that, as it seems we’ve run out of soldiers a few wars ago. But every one of those faces of lost soldiers is somebody’s son and my heart aches for them.
It was good of you to honor your friend here.
xxoo
Mel-
Thanks. I think you’re right about bearing witness. It doesn’t seem like enough, but it is important.
God, we all get ground up, though, don’t we?
I saw your warrior on the national news last night.
I knew his name and face because you showed me who he was here.
What a courageous heart.
Laurel-
I’m glad he made the national news, I missed it. He really did have a courageous heart.
Scott,
Thank you for this amazing tribute. Ryan truly was all the things you said he was, courageous, intelligent, and incredibly humble. I love the picture that you have of him fighting on the ground because that’s what he was. A true fighter and hero. My heart broke when I was told this devastating news and I was disgusted when I found out about his murder. The other two men that were taken that day were also incredible and brave men. The only part of this that gives me any peace is the fact that Ryan was protecting his men and he would have gladly sacrificed himself to save them. He was an incredible man and I feel so unbelievably blessed and proud to have been his wife. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for this tribute.
Sincerely,
Sheila Jeschke
Sheila-
Thank you so much for letting me know you stopped by and read this. I am so very sorry for your loss, I cannot imagine what you must be going through right now.
I hope that it does give you some small measure of comfort and pride to know how deeply your husband touched the lives of those around him. Especially in the TPI community that I knew him through, Ryan was highly respected, admired, and loved. Among a community of men who study and train and work hard to be well-rounded death merchants, Ryan stood out. We will all miss him terribly.
I will always carry your husband’s example in my heart. When I am training combatives, or at the range, or in the gym, and especially on the rare instances when I’m kicking down a door on a drug raid or search warrant, he will be there- showing me by his example how to dig a little deeper, try a little harder, play a little smarter. I know there are a lot of guys who are going to be better than they otherwise would have been because they got to work or train with your husband.
We all owe you the deepest debt. You have my gratitude and thanks, and if there is ever anything I can do for you you only need ask. I know that you are probably swarmed with good people in the Marine Corps family who are sharing your pain and grief and easing your burden some, but know that there is another community beyond that that also has your back and holds your husband in the highest regard.
With much love,
Scott Odom
Ryan was a inspiration to me and I’m sure many more military soldiers,marines, airmen, and seamen. He is a true hero and gave the greatest sacrifice for his family and country. Ryan Jeschke is a true American Hero.
you are 100 percent right.
War is not the answer. I pray one day humanity will be humane. We were designed to be better than this. In the interim, good men and women die–on both sides loved ones suffer their loss. The sadness of this overwhelms me. We are all One–all of us, no exceptions.
thanks for sharing your thoughts. we are all one, but we’re also only one, it seems.
this world is a sad old place sometimes.