'Everyone's hero'

Evergreen man who died in Afghanistan remembered

By Matthew Piechalak

The body of a fallen soldier from Evergreen Park returned home last week to a hero’s reception as thousands gathered to pay their respects during two processions before he was laid to rest.

Army Spc. Jared Donald Stanker, killed last month during combat in Afghanistan, is being remembered for his unwavering devotion to his country and to his family.

Stanker, 22, died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked the armored vehicle he was riding in with an improvised explosive device. Six other American soldiers and a civilian were killed in the blast.

“He was always a constant in my life and he was the kind of guy that if you lost touch, when you got back together, you felt like no time had ever passed,” Stanker’s girlfriend, Abbey Oman, said.

Oman, of Evergreen Park, knew Stanker since third grade. The two were always together, she said.

“We were each other’s first and forever loves,” Oman said.

Stanker enlisted in the military a day before his 18th birthday, shortly after graduating from Brother Rice High School in Chicago. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Wash., after completing basic training. His decision to enlist in the military was of little surprise to those who knew him best, Oman said.

“I remember playing G.I. Joes with him when he was 10 years old,” Oman recalled. “I wanted to play house. So [enlisting] was no surprise.”

Oman moved from California to Seattle in early 2007 to be close to Stanker, who was stationed 45 minutes away. When he was deployed to Afghanistan in July, Oman created a Facebook group called “Southside Supporting Troops” to make it easier for friends and family to stay in touch with him and other area soldiers, she said.

“The first week there was 80 members and I thought that was amazing,” Oman said.

Since word of Stanker’s death reached home, there have been hundreds more people who have joined the group to offer their condolences and support. As of 4 p.m. Monday there were 1,042 members.

“We are all very proud of Jared and [also] the sense of community [support],” Oman said. “I never realized how much people actually cared.”

Stanker was buried last Saturday with full military honors at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth. Thousands of people gathered on 103rd Street outside Queen of Martyrs Church, 10233 S. Central Park Ave., for the funeral procession. Oman called it an “awe-inspiring spectacle” and said the support is a “true testament to how Jared inspired the community.”

“It was a grand sendoff, but it’s a horrible thing to have to do,” Evergreen Park Mayor James J. Sexton said. “We all pray and think about his folks and his family.”

When news reached the school about Stanker’s death, it was so astonishing it felt surreal, Brother Rice Principal Jim Antos said.

“He was one of those youngsters who was friendly to so many,” Antos said of Stanker, a 2006 alum. “No one disliked him and he always had a smile on his face.”

“We have a number of guys every year that go into the military,” said Antos, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “We’ve had some kids that have gotten hurt in the Middle East, but certainly this was just, ‘Oh my God, no.’”

As more than four-dozen members of the Illinois Patriot Riders gathered last Thursday to escort Stanker’s body from Midway Airport to Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd St. in Oak Lawn, Brother Rice students and faculty along with students from Mother McAuley, Southwest Elementary School and Queen of Martyrs, gathered on Pulaski between 99th and 101st streets to pay their respects.

The procession took a detour past Stanker’s parish, grade school and high school before heading to the funeral home. The motorcade traveled north on Pulaski, past more than 2,000 students standing at attention and holding miniature American flags. Some of the students saluted as the hearse crawled past Brother Rice.

“It’s really a shell-shock because of how young he was,” said Brother Rice junior Joe Dunne, of Evergreen Park. “It was really just a breath of reality.”

“I think it was a nice way to show respect for a hero,” said Brother Rice Student Body president Jake Mueller, 17, of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. “He’s our alumnus.”

“He was everyone’s hero,” Oman said. “He died for me, you and every single one of those people standing on the street … he would have done it for any one of us. [But] he was also someone’s son.”

Jared Donald Stanker is survived by his parents, Kevin and Susan; his sister, Jordan Brandl; his girlfriend, Abigail Oman; and his grandmother, Catherine.

This is part of the November 12, 2009 online edition of The Reporter.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.