KOTV.com
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
May 16, 2007
JASON HENDRIX
Army Staff Sgt. Jason Hendrix, 28, Claremore.
Killed: Feb. 16, 2005
On February 16, 2005, as Hendrix tried to pull his fellow
soldiers from a burning vehicle, a roadside bomb went off
killing him.
Hendrix is one of 52 fallen soldiers featured in "Faces
of Freedom." He's the only solider chosen from Oklahoma.
Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 3, 2005, pg 9A
LATEST NEWS:A trial in Santa Cruz, Calif., Superior Court
starts today in the custody case over the body of Staff Sgt.
Jason Russell Hendrix, a court spokeswoman confirmed Friday. The
trial is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time before
Judge Robert B. Yonts Jr.
BACKGROUND:Hendrix died Feb. 16 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, while
rescuing a soldier from a disabled vehicle under fire. His body
was first sent to California. But a judge granted Hendrix's
father custody of the remains, and the body was brought to
Oklahoma and buried April 2. His mother, who lives in
California, has filed a handful of lawsuits, one asking for
custody of his body. His father, who lives in Claremore, wants
the 28-year-old's remains to stay in Oklahoma.
Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 3, 2005, pg 13A
CLAREMORE - An Oklahoma soldier killed Feb. 16 in Iraq was buried Saturday after five weeks of family dispute delayed his funeral.
Staff Sgt. Jason Russell Hendrix, 28, died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, while rescuing a soldier from a disabled vehicle under fire.
"It's Iraqis today that probably never knew Jason Hendrix but, because of what he did, they're going to experience some freedoms in the days ahead," military Chaplain Greg Borden said at the funeral.
A disagreement about where to bury Hendrix resulted in a court battle. His father, Russell Hendrix, lives in Claremore. His mother, Renee Amick, lives in California.
Jason Hendrix' body was first sent to California. An Oklahoma judge ruled his remains should be brought back here, but a California judge imposed a restraining order requiring the body stay in the chapel where it was originally sent. On March 23, a second California judge overturned his colleague's ruling, granting Russell Hendrix custody of the body.
Hendrix' sister, Amanda, traveled from California for the service. Their mother did not.
Brother Justin Hendrix of Owasso and Russell Hendrix attended.
Before the service, the military chaplain thanked Jason Hendrix' relatives for his 11 years of service.
"He loved it," his grandmother said.
"He did," an aunt agreed, nodding. "We've lost a lot of men over there, but they're accomplishing a lot, too."
A video tribute documented Hendrix' life from a grinning, towheaded toddler to a grown man and soldier overseas. Friends and family laughed at photos of him as a child, grimacing next to a clown or missing a front tooth. Other photos - opening Christmas gifts or with his brother and sister - drew sighs and tears.
Russell Hendrix was given four awards his son earned for his service: the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.
Jason Hendrix has been awarded 14 decorations in all.
Family members stuck magnets with Jason Hendrix' photo and the words "In Loving Memory" onto their cars for the procession to the Tulsa cemetery where he and his grandfather are now buried.
When the bugler finished the final note of Taps, all was silent except for the clinking of an American flag on a pole nearby.
Gen. Mark Graham knelt before Russell Hendrix and handed him the flag that had been draped over his son's coffin. Russell Hendrix wiped tears from his cheeks and nodded to the general.
Russell Hendrix hopes to reconcile with Amick and move past the disagreement in honor of their son, said Sharon Cole, attorney and spokeswoman for the Hendrix family.
"Jason was a hero, and he deserves that," she said.
Jason Hendrix joined the Army after high school and commanded a 25-man squad. He worked as a medic in his unit, Cole said, and had hoped to work as a Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper when he returned from Iraq.
Caption:
A military honor guard carries the casket of Staff Sgt. Jason Hendrix at the graveside service in Tulsa. Hendrix was killed in Iraq on Feb. 16 while saving a fellow soldier.
Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
January 27, 2006, pg 7A
The mother of a soldier buried in Oklahoma has appealed a judge's decision to leave her son's remains in his Tulsa grave.
California Superior Court Judge Robert Yonts Jr. ruled last year the body of Staff Sgt. Jason Russell Hendrix should remain in the custody of his father, Russ Hendrix. Jason Hendrix already was buried in a Tulsa cemetery.
The appeal by Renee Amick, Jason Hendrix's mother, asks for custody of her son's remains.
Russ Hendrix's attorney said she's unsure whether Amick wants to exhume the body and move the remains.
"Basically she's just asking for the judgment to be reversed, for it to be reconsidered," Sharon Cole said. "And that would just go right back to her initial claim, which I'm assuming would still be that she's wanting to exhume his body. It really doesn't say."
Amick's attorney, Michael Barsi, did not return phone calls from The Oklahoman.
Yonts listed several reasons for leaving Jason Hendrix in Oklahoma. He said Amick didn't provide a plan for her son's remains if they were exhumed, and he said moving his body would serve no purpose.
"May this brave soldier, Sergeant Jason Hendrix, rest in peace," Yonts wrote in his Nov. 1 ruling.
Hendrix died in Iraq in February 2005. His father was allowed to bury him April 2, after a judge ended weeks of legal confusion about which parent would gain custody of the body. His mother sued, demanding she be given her son's remains. After five days of testimony last month and two weeks of deliberation, her request was denied.
Jason Hendrix was leading 25 soldiers in armored vehicles when an explosion disabled the lead vehicle. He rushed to drag the injured from the wreckage when a second explosion sent shrapnel flying into his chest and right side. He died instantly.
The fallen soldier was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal. He earned 14 medals in all.
A California judge decided that the Oklahoma soldier who was buried in Tulsa will remain in his grave, ending a seven-month custody battle over his body.
"May this brave soldier, Sergeant Jason Hendrix, rest in peace," Superior Court Judge Robert Yonts Jr. wrote in his ruling Tuesday.
Hendrix died in Iraq in February. His father was allowed to bury him April 2, after a judge ended weeks of legal confusion about which parent would gain custody of the body. His mother sued, demanding she be given her son's remains. After five days of testimony last month and two weeks of deliberation, her request was denied.
"This is something the whole family wanted," father Russ Hendrix said. "And we definitely feel this is something that Jason would want."
<b>Legacy altered</b>
Jason Hendrix was leading 25 soldiers in armored vehicles when an explosion disabled the lead vehicle. He rushed to drag the injured from the wreckage when a second explosion sent shrapnel flying into his chest and right side. He died instantly.
The fallen soldier was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal. He earned 14 medals in all.
"Sergeant Jason Hendrix will unfortunately not be primarily remembered for his valiant acts and leadership in combat," the judge wrote, "but by the dispute that arose between his parents over his earthly remains." Russ Hendrix hopes that isn't true.
"Jason needs to be remembered for what he did," his father said. "He wasn't selfish. He couldn't have done any better."
<b>Cases presented</b>
The judge heard five days of testimony about why Jason Hendrix preferred Oklahoma to California and vice versa.
Claremore was listed as Jason Hendrix's "home of record," according to the Army. He had an Oklahoma driver's license and had talked about working for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
But his car was in California, and Hendrix's mother took care of his finances. He had also given her power of attorney.
In the end, the judge didn't believe the mother, Renee Amick. "The testimony of the mother appeared forced and contrived," the judge wrote. "The tears were not genuine ... The court therefore rejects the mother's testimony as not credible."
Amick was shocked and hurt by the judge's opinion, said AC Smith, a spokesman for her and her family.
<b>Judge explains decision</b>
Yonts cited several reasons for leaving Jason Hendrix's body in Oklahoma, including:
* Amick didn't have a specific plan for her son's remains if he were exhumed.
* Moving Jason Hendrix would serve no public purpose.
* Russ Hendrix last had custody of Jason Hendrix, and he was the elder parent.
* Jason Hendrix's immediate family, except for his mother, said they would prefer his body stay in Oklahoma.
* Moving the body now would be traumatic for everyone.
The judge heard five days of testimony about why Jason Hendrix preferred Oklahoma to California and vice versa.
Claremore was listed as Jason Hendrix's "home of record," according to the Army. He had an Oklahoma driver's license and had talked about working for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Sources: The
Oklahoman; Teafor2
(photos)
Contributed by Marti Graham, May 2007. Information
posted as courtesy to viewers and researchers. The contributor is not
related to nor researching any of the above.
|
