Their Story
Remembering Drew N. Jensen.
Capt. Drew N. Jensen, 27, of Clackamas, Oregon, died Sept. 7 in Seattle of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire during combat operations May 7 in Ba’qubah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
His Battalion was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in Ba’qouba, which had been an al-Qaida stronghold.
Capt. Jensen was on his second deployment as a mortar platoon leader when a sniper's bullet struck him in the neck in May 2007. His injuries left him a quadriplegic and dependent on a breathing tube. On September 7 doctors and his family followed his wishes and turned off life support at the Puget Sound VA hospital.
Before his death, he designated that a $10,000 fund established in his name should go to help offset the housing costs of other families who travel far to be near their wounded loved one's bedside at the VA Hospital in Seattle.