Kitsap Sun
4 June 2008
By Ed Friedrich
Photos By Carolyn J. Yaschur
BANGOR
On May 20, Jeff Ammon slid into the passenger seat of a convoy's lead vehicle. A Navy lieutenant, the Bremerton man could have pulled rank and ridden near the back.
Instead, he sat in the most likely spot to be blown up by a roadside bomb and died that day in Ghazni, Afghanistan, when his truck hit an improvised explosive device.
"Jeff was a selfless leader who always took danger head-on so somebody else didn't have to," his commanding officer at the time, Cmdr. Scott Cooledge, told about 1,300 sailors, family members and friends packing the Brickyard for a memorial service Wednesday afternoon.
"Jeff had no regrets because he learned that he'd rather spend one day as a lion than a lifetime as a lamb," Cooledge said.
Eight men with Kitsap County ties have died in the war on terrorism. Ammon, 37, was the first one attached to a local base. He worked for Navy Region Northwest as an operations officer after transferring from the Bangor-based Trident submarine USS Alabama, where he was an engineering officer. He volunteered in 2007 to serve in Afghanistan as an individual augmentee with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni. In March, he asked to extend his tour for a second year of helping the Afghan people rebuild and develop their country.
Ammon negotiated and managed contracts in Ghazni, helping small businesses with restocking, buying business equipment, repairing damage to shops and hiring employees.
He wasn't bound by military protocol. After returning from a convoy, Ammon, sporting a three-day beard, often would change from his uniform into flip-flops and comfortable Afghan clothes, grab a cup of tea and head into the community to resolve disputes among locals, Cooledge said.
Other superiors would clamor that "Jeff had gone native," but Cooledge advised them, "You just need to let Jeff be Jeff because he's getting it done."
"The locals absolutely loved him," Cooledge said Wednesday. "He did what he does best, making friends."
Cooledge called Ammon his right-hand man, his Hawkeye Pierce from the TV show M*A*S*H*. Retired Cmdr. Kevin Fontes, Ammon's commanding officer aboard the USS Alabama who also spoke, likened him more to Pierce's sidekick, B.J. Hunnicut, for the capers he pulled.
Ammon's unit was called to a village to assess the damage, treat the injured and negotiate a settlement after Taliban and Special Forces engaged in a firefight the previous night, Cooledge said. The townspeople weren't feeling kindly toward coalition troops.
"He used his amazing talent to convince the entire village that despite the events of the night before, we were not the enemy," Cooledge said. "His compassion was sincere. They sensed it and responded in kind."
In Afghanistan, Ammon developed a love of cigars. Each night, he, Cooledge and three other officers would sit under the stars, smoke stogies, and talk about the day's missions and their families. Only three of the five remain.
"It's almost too hard to bear," Cooledge said. "I don't know where we find these men."
The Navy came out in full force Wednesday to honor Ammon and support his family. Sailors lined both sides of the street for blocks and saluted the Ammon family as it drove past, preceded by bagpipers. Sailors fell in five abreast behind the car and took about 15 minutes to file into the plaza.
Ammon's family, which requested not to be identified, accepted his Purple Heart, a Bronze Star Medal With Combat Distinguishing Device, and an American flag on Jeff's behalf for his "heroic achievement" as quality assurance/quality control engineer in Ghazni from March 21, 2007, to May 20, 2008.
"That's a man who lived over 400 days as a lion," Cooledge said.
Kitsap Sun
4 June 2008
Sailors lined the streets of the Bangor submarine base on Wednesday to honor a Navy officer killed in Afghanistan last month.
The base held a memorial service for LT Jeffrey Ammon, 37, who was serving as a project payment and engineer officer with the Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni. He was an individual augmentee and volunteered for the assignment, Navy officials said.
He died May 20 from wounds he suffered from a roadside bomb.
Roughly 200 family and friends joined about 1,100 sailors at the service for Ammon. Sailors lined the streets leading to the service, saluting vehicles that drove through carrying family members. Bagpipers marched ahead of the vehicles.
Commander Scott Cooledge, Ammon’s superior in Afghanistan, spoke, commending Ammon’s bravery in volunteering for a dangerous assignment not once — but twice.
Retired Commander Kevin Fontes, who was the commander of the USS Alabama when Ammon served aboard it, also spoke, echoing sentiments that Ammon was a rare breed.
The ceremony took place amid dark, gray skies. Ammon’s family was presented with a flag and medals issued to him, including a purple heart.
Visit kitsapsun.com later this afternoon for a more complete report of the service.
Kitsap Sun
4 June 2008
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More than 1,000 sailors lined the street of the Bangor base as LT Jeffrey Ammon's funeral procession arrived at the Brickyard on Wednesday. |
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Members of the USS Alabama crew carry the ship's brow banner as they process to the funeral of former shipmate LT Jeffrey Ammon at Bangor on Wednesday. |
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Members of the flag detail fold an American flag to be given to the family of LT Jeffrey Ammon during his funeral at Bangor on Wednesday. |
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Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Klink of the USS Alabama reacts after the funeral of former shipmate LT Jeffrey Ammon at Bangor on Wednesday. |
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More than 1,000 sailors lined the street as LT Jeffrey Ammon's funeral procession arrived at the Brickyard in Bangor on Wednesday. |
