Kokomo High School class of 2002 has lost another classmate in Iraq.
The family of Rickey Jones, 21, a sergeant with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, said they were notified Wednesday evening.
Jones was among four soldiers from the 101st, based in Fort Campbell, Ky., killed Wednesday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, the military command said.
Ronnie Jones, the soldier’s grandfather, said his grandson was a loving person and the pride of his family.
He said the family received few details of the soldier’s death.
“So far, we ain’t found out too much, period. All we know is that four of them were in a Humvee, and they got killed over there,” Jones said through tears.
“He was just one hell of a good soldier.”
The four soldiers assigned to the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team were killed on patrol Wednesday near Hawijah, 150 miles north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.
Jones, a 2002 graduate of Kokomo High School, was serving his second tour in Iraq and recently had been promoted to sergeant. Former classmate Lance Cpl. James Swain died Nov. 15, 2004, in Fallujah.
Kokomo-Center School Corp. Superintendent Thomas Little Jr. said Jones will be honored in some way at Kokomo High School.
He said he did not know Jones personally, but had a daughter in his class.
“I can relate to this personally from the standpoint I have a daughter that age. To lose someone so young has got to hurt deeply as a parent, but to know he’s given his life to defend the freedoms of this country, you have to honor that as well from a parent’s standpoint.”
Jones is survived by his mother, Tenia Rogers, and grandparents Ronnie and Margaret Jones, all of Kokomo.
Including the four killed Wednesday, there have been 128 soldiers from Fort Campbell killed in the Iraq war.
Since February 2003, 54 Indiana military personnel have died in the Mideast war.
Local News
Kokomo soldier killed in Iraq
Sgt. Rickey Jones remembered as a good soldier
- Local News
-
-
Students kick off Black History Month at IU Kokomo
“Hey, black child, be what you can be. Learn what you can learn. Do what you can do. And tomorrow, your nation will be what you want it to be.”
-
Council taking heat for proposal
The Miami County Council on Thursday got to hear from county employees who are disgruntled about proposed budget cuts that would reduce the county general fund by nearly $900,000.
-
County looks at health care options
With the city of Kokomo ending its relationship with Novia Health Care, Howard County officials are now discussing what move they will make.
-
KHS to implement new technology program
Starting next school year, the more than 500 freshmen enrolled at Kokomo High School will receive either a laptop computer or tablet device as part of a new technology program that school officials say will improve learning in the classroom.
-
Measles patient was at NFL event
East Coast fans who left the Super Bowl host city feeling good about Hoosier hospitality may have been exposed to something less welcome: The measles.
-
Outreach provides housing to the down-and-out
Dale Bliss tells the story of a man with no money, no job and two kids.
Without any way to pay for a hotel or rent an apartment, the man was living in a tent with his children at a reservoir near Kokomo. He told them it was a family camping trip.
-
Green tech lab opens in Kokomo
A California green technology company has opened a research and development lab in Kokomo and plans to hire as many as 35 people over the next few years, the business announced this week.
-
Main Street conference coming to Kokomo
Following up on its Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Community of the Year award, Kokomo received another accolade this week.
-
Howard Co. jail reconfiguration a ‘short-term solution’
With the ever-increasing number of female prisoners at the Howard County jail, local officials are looking to implement a short-term solution instead of expanding the existing facility.
-
Delphi retirees continue fight for pensions
A group of then-Delphi Corp. retirees saw a long road ahead of them when they banded in 2009 to keep hold of their full pensions and benefits.
- More Local News Headlines
-








