Someone You Should Know: Jared Raymond
UPDATE: Boston Herald: A tearful tribute to a �??genuine American hero�??
Matt from Blackfive was unable to join us this weekend, but we went ahead and did a special, local edition of Someone You Should Know. We honored the memory of Massachusetts native Jared Raymond who died this month in Iraq.
Salem News, September 23
Swampscott loses one of its own in Iraq
He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team based at Ford Hood, Texas. He was remembered yesterday in Swampscott as a sweet, respectful and well-liked kid who grew into a man after joining the Army.
“He loved what he was doing. He loved the Army. He loved his country,” said Dunnigan, a classmate of Raymond’s who is himself a Navy veteran of the Iraq war.
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Source: 
October 2nd, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Thank you so much for this. Jared was my nephew. I want so much for all to know what a wonderful man, and hero Jared was. Thank you again.
Kristen McDuffee
October 2nd, 2006 at 7:11 pm
A Tribute
A young soldier was buried today. A horse drawn carriage brought him through town to the church. An entire town mourned.
They handed out a picture of him taken by his Mother. He had the baby face of a boy.
The photo shows him standing in the family room dressed as a soldier. Years earlier,
in the same room, he had played as a child, and his mother lovingly held him in her arms.
His flag-draped casket was pulled down the street to St. John??s church as hundreds
gazed upon it, hushed in disbelief. An unnatural feeling overwhelmed me. I said to myself, he was too young to die! I am so much older. I can??t even remember when I was 20 years old, yet he died for me. How can this be? I??ve already lived a long time and he has hardly breathed in this world!
At the church there were prayers, an appeal to God, farewells and thousands of tears.
His mother walked outside, dressed in black, dignified, and filled with heartache.
He was her only child. Her dignity and composure were the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed in my life.
I walked to the cemetery behind the horse-drawn carriage. Elderly World War Two veterans chose not to drive. Instead, with difficulty, they walked slowly behind his casket. He had walked in their footsteps of war. They followed him, an escort of honor. As young soldiers, they experienced loss. As old men, they understand what he has lost. He will never experience the romantic kiss of a loving wife, the loving embrace of a child, or the playful laughter of grandchildren.
As the flag- draped casket rolled past my eyes, I stood there feeling like a selfish coward.
I asked myself, ??What is the value of life? More importantly, what value have I given it by my own actions?? I was embarrassed. He had given so much and I had given so little.
I know his virtuous heart had already forgiven me.
I finally understood what the word ??hero? means. This boy in the casket and the firemen of 911 are very unusual people. Heroes are more closely bonded to humanity than the rest of us.
When I talk of nobility, selflessness and valor, I will use these words in honor of someone who understood their true meaning long before I ever did. He was just a boy but he had the courage of a man. He lived his life embracing these words rather than hiding from them. He volunteered for the US Army.
His name was Jared Raymond, from Swampscott, Massachusetts.
He was killed in Iraq.
by Thomas B. McNeil
September 28, 2006
Swampscott, Massachustts
October 4th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Well I just got a call to listen to this website. Thank you guys for this. I am Justin Mooers, jared’s cousin/brother in arms. There were two of us that joined the army in my family. Jared and I. Out of 3 casualties in the small town of Swampscott Jared and I were two of them. I was fortunate enough to come out of it alive with only a amputated leg and some 3rd degree burn, but I made it. I was injured enroute to Kuwait in a convoy. I wish Jared had the chance that I got. Jared and I were close. I retired out of Ft.Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, and currently live there. Jared was stationed up the road. We got to see quite a bit of each other. He would call me every week and tell me how excited he was about my first unborn daughter, which would be his niece. He was supposed to be here for Turkey Day, but he will still have a plate put out for him.
We won’t forget you Jared
Love your cousin and brother in Arms
Spc.(ret) Justin Mooers
February 8th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
i didnt know who this sholdier was.but he and those se loved desurve a deep love. not from geroge bush though. not entill he stops trying to follow in his daddys footsteps and end thisd war that cannot be won.peace is good. death is not.
February 12th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
[...] This week, unfortunately, we had a local hero to talk about. Swampscott native, Marine Captain Jennifer J. Harris. She was the third Swampscott native killed in the Iraq war. The first was the great journalist Michael Kelly. Last fall, Jared Raymond was killed by an IED in Iraq. And now this amazing young woman, only 28 years old. [...]
June 14th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I feel so bad for Jared that he had to die young! My father has a picture of him in his dead people’s section at work!