‘He died doing what he loved’

Staff Sgt. Jarred Seth Fontenot grew up loving the military, just like his great uncles, who served in the Marines and Navy.

“He used to play ‘Rambo’ all the time,” said Charles Marks, Fontenot’s grandfather, who also served in the Army. “He loved that.”

Fontenot, 35, of Port Barre, La., died Thursday of wounds from a bomb blast and smallarms fire in combat in Baghdad, the Defense Department reported Friday.

He was assigned to Fort Carson’s 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

Marks, speaking from his home in Port Barre, said family members learned of Fontenot’s death Thursday afternoon. Funeral arrangements were still pending Friday night.

“It’s just the same way I reacted when my brother was killed in Korea. I was numb. I wanted to cry,” he said. “Jarred was a friendly guy. He would always want to help you out.”

Marks said he and his wife, Dorthy, raised Fontenot and his sister after Fontenot’s parents died before he turned 13 years old.

Growing up, Fontenot loved to fish, hunt and play sports, making it on the high school football team.

“He was pretty good,” Marks said. “He was rough. He played hard. Everything he did, he put everything into it.”

Fontenot was a police officer before joining the Army on Christmas Day 1993, said his mother-in-law, Bett Dedon. His interest in the military was not foreign to his family: His two great uncles attended the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., joining the Marines and the Navy.

His grandfather served in the Army and Fontenot’s sister lives in North Carolina with her husband, who is also in the Army.

During his time in the military, Fontenot served in Korea and Iraq. He was killed during his second tour in Iraq. He received numerous awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Parachute Badge.

“He loved being a soldier, and he died doing what he loved,” Dedon said.

Fontenot is survived by his wife and four children. Marks said Fontenot’s 17-year-old son, his oldest, was in shock over the news of his father’s death.

“He’s hurt,” he said. “Him and his daddy kept in touch all the time. He’d call him often.”

Fontenot is the 224th Fort Carson soldier killed in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, has lost 110 of those soldiers.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4813 or kim.nguyen@gazette.com