Army Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett
Death: Jan 06, 2010
of North Platte Neb.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion 159th Aviation Regiment 12th Combat Aviation Brigade Illesheim Germany; Died Jan. 6 in Balad Iraq of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident. Friends fondly remember ‘Potato’ The Associated Press Michael R. Jarrett grew up in southern California but joined the Army in 2007 in North Platte Neb. where he had traveled with best friend Andy Clark. “He decided it was better than minimum wage in Nebraska” Clark told the Ramona Sentinel of Ramona Calif. Jarrett’s mother Brenda said the longtime Boy Scout had a knack for getting others involved whether he was camping riding three-wheelers or digging for crabs at the beach. She called him Mike but close friends used the default moniker he was once assigned while logging on to play a video game. “For the next hour we all kept getting killed by ‘Potato’ ” Clark said according to the newspaper. “The guys kept saying ‘Dude! Who’s Potato?’ ” From then on it was Jarrett. The lanky 20-year-old helicopter mechanic Died Jan. 6 in Balad Iraq of injuries from a noncombat- incident. He was assigned to Illesheim Germany. “He always did what was asked of him” automotive instructor Robert Grace of Ramona High School told the Sentinel adding that Jarrett was one of the most courageous kids he knew. Jarrett left the school but earned a diploma from the district’s adult school program in 2007. He is also survived by his father and sister. Operation Iraqi Freedom