Army Spc. Wershow was assigned to the 2-124th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Orlando, Florida. Wershow volunteered to be part of a security detail for a team of Army civil affairs officers meeting with Baghdad University officials. He went into a student cafeteria to buy a 7-Up and was walking out to a shaded terrace, his rifle slung over his shoulder, soda can in hand, when a man who had been sitting near the cafeteria entrance walked up from behind. Reaching within arm's length of the soldier, he raised a pistol and fired a single shot into the base of Wershow's head. Jeffrey never let his guard down. His buddies nicknamed him "The General" because he strode about with a sense of purpose and confidence. He was a stickler for rules and regulations and always stood at attention when addressing officers, when most other soldiers sweltering in the heat would take a more casual attitude. Jeffrey was a dependable young man who mixed political passion with a healthy sense of humor. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he was secure enough to play one of the sisters in "Beauty and the Beast" in high school. "No one will ever forget the dress he wore or how well he filled it. He brought the house down," says Richard Gehman, headmaster at Oak Hall.
NOTE: On April 13, 2008, at a private ceremony at Jeffery Wershow's grave in Alachua, the young Florida National Guard soldier was posthumously promoted to Sgt. Jeffrey Wershow, fulfilling a dream of the 22-year-old specialist.∼Since he was a boy, Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow displayed great passion for the military. Friends said he often eschewed school work in favor of military history books, and become a self-taught military historian. After his high school graduation, Wershow joined the Army and served for three years before going to community college and serving with the Florida National Guard. He stood out in a crowd because of the strong beliefs he not only expressed, but also exercised, family friend John Roscow said. He was called back to active duty just after Christmas 2002 and was deployed to the Mideast in late January. On July 6, 2003,Wershow, age 22, of Gainesville, Fla., was killed by enemy fire in Baghdad. I've known (Wershow) since he was a baby and he's always wanted to be a soldier, said Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chesnut, a friend of Wershow''s family. We were all looking for him to be in the state Legislature one day, Chestnut said.
NOTE: On April 13, 2008, at a private ceremony at Jeffery Wershow's grave in Alachua, the young Florida National Guard soldier was posthumously promoted to Sgt. Jeffrey Wershow, fulfilling a dream of the 22-year-old specialist.∼Since he was a boy, Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow displayed great passion for the military. Friends said he often eschewed school work in favor of military history books, and become a self-taught military historian. After his high school graduation, Wershow joined the Army and served for three years before going to community college and serving with the Florida National Guard. He stood out in a crowd because of the strong beliefs he not only expressed, but also exercised, family friend John Roscow said. He was called back to active duty just after Christmas 2002 and was deployed to the Mideast in late January. On July 6, 2003,Wershow, age 22, of Gainesville, Fla., was killed by enemy fire in Baghdad. I've known (Wershow) since he was a baby and he's always wanted to be a soldier, said Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chesnut, a friend of Wershow''s family. We were all looking for him to be in the state Legislature one day, Chestnut said.
Army Spc. Wershow was assigned to the 2-124th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Orlando, Florida. Wershow volunteered to be part of a security detail for a team of Army civil affairs officers meeting with Baghdad University officials. He went into a student cafeteria to buy a 7-Up and was walking out to a shaded terrace, his rifle slung over his shoulder, soda can in hand, when a man who had been sitting near the cafeteria entrance walked up from behind. Reaching within arm's length of the soldier, he raised a pistol and fired a single shot into the base of Wershow's head. Jeffrey never let his guard down. His buddies nicknamed him "The General" because he strode about with a sense of purpose and confidence. He was a stickler for rules and regulations and always stood at attention when addressing officers, when most other soldiers sweltering in the heat would take a more casual attitude. Jeffrey was a dependable young man who mixed political passion with a healthy sense of humor. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he was secure enough to play one of the sisters in "Beauty and the Beast" in high school. "No one will ever forget the dress he wore or how well he filled it. He brought the house down," says Richard Gehman, headmaster at Oak Hall.
NOTE: On April 13, 2008, at a private ceremony at Jeffery Wershow's grave in Alachua, the young Florida National Guard soldier was posthumously promoted to Sgt. Jeffrey Wershow, fulfilling a dream of the 22-year-old specialist.∼Since he was a boy, Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow displayed great passion for the military. Friends said he often eschewed school work in favor of military history books, and become a self-taught military historian. After his high school graduation, Wershow joined the Army and served for three years before going to community college and serving with the Florida National Guard. He stood out in a crowd because of the strong beliefs he not only expressed, but also exercised, family friend John Roscow said. He was called back to active duty just after Christmas 2002 and was deployed to the Mideast in late January. On July 6, 2003,Wershow, age 22, of Gainesville, Fla., was killed by enemy fire in Baghdad. I've known (Wershow) since he was a baby and he's always wanted to be a soldier, said Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chesnut, a friend of Wershow''s family. We were all looking for him to be in the state Legislature one day, Chestnut said.
NOTE: On April 13, 2008, at a private ceremony at Jeffery Wershow's grave in Alachua, the young Florida National Guard soldier was posthumously promoted to Sgt. Jeffrey Wershow, fulfilling a dream of the 22-year-old specialist.∼Since he was a boy, Spc. Jeffrey M. Wershow displayed great passion for the military. Friends said he often eschewed school work in favor of military history books, and become a self-taught military historian. After his high school graduation, Wershow joined the Army and served for three years before going to community college and serving with the Florida National Guard. He stood out in a crowd because of the strong beliefs he not only expressed, but also exercised, family friend John Roscow said. He was called back to active duty just after Christmas 2002 and was deployed to the Mideast in late January. On July 6, 2003,Wershow, age 22, of Gainesville, Fla., was killed by enemy fire in Baghdad. I've known (Wershow) since he was a baby and he's always wanted to be a soldier, said Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chesnut, a friend of Wershow''s family. We were all looking for him to be in the state Legislature one day, Chestnut said.
Inscription
SPC US ARMY IRAQ
82ND AIRBORNE FL NATL GUARD
COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE
Gravesite Details
U. S. Army Specialist Infantryman, Co. C 2nd Battalion 124th Infantry Reg. Orlando. Operation Iraqi Freedom.
