CW2 Jennifer C. Hunter
December 21, 1978- June 27, 2015
Anyone who knew our daughter, CW2 Jennifer C. Hunter, could describe a woman with a loving energy who cherished her family, always showed a zest for life with her laughter and sense of humor, had a genuine smile that was contagious, made it easy for others to relate to her with her authentic personhood, consistently showed care and thoughtfulness for others, had a generosity without flair, a tenderness and compassion for others life concerns, an unassuming character who somehow always stood out for the depth of her faith and trust in a God who she felt blessed her without fail her entire life. Deploying 3 times to Iraq and being exposed to the burn pits did not dampen her resolve to faithfully serve her country regardless of cost. I miss her so…as does all her family. Just by knowing her she made and is making us better people even now.
On September 11, when the second plane hit, I immediately called my daughter, stationed at Ft. Sill, and told her America was under attack and wasn’t sure how widespread it was so please be careful and watch your surroundings. Her response was, “Sure mom, okay.” Her call came a short time later, “Mom, they hit the Pentagon, the Army side.” And then a confession, “Mom, you know I love the boys with all my heart, but right now if they sent me, I’d go to the Pentagon, those are my people.” And then, “Remember in Naples when dad left after being called in due to Desert Storm, I felt like he abandoned us, but now I understand why he left.”
It is truly inexpressible to capture the willingness of military members to give their all for each other and to understand the deeper sacredness of who they are for each other. They are called upon to reach their highest levels of performance in the sky, on the ground, and on the water in situations that most people could not imagine. They possess an inner strength to face fear and adversity with courage, a mental toughness to overcome obstacles and challenges with calculated self-confidence and a stoic tactical awareness to see their duty completed, regardless of the cost. They do it for their families, and only hope their families understand and have their back, even as they have each other’s back. And we had Jennifer’s back fully as she took care of her people, working to make sure they got home safe.
Our daughter told us in a hundred different ways after she came back from her deployments in Iraq why she did what she did, “Glad my boys can grow up free and not taught to hate at such a young age,” “Mom, the atrocities against women, I never want that for you.”
In her 15 years of military service, Jennifer was stationed in various places around the world including posts in the United States, Germany, Italy, and three tours in Iraq, and always giving her best wherever she landed. Her awards include a Bronze Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, six Army Commendation Medals, five Army Achievement Medals, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, three Army Good Conduct Medals, a National Defense Service Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, an Army Service Ribbon and three overseas Service Ribbons.
Our Jennifer passed away Saturday, June 27, 2015, in Fort Carson, Colorado after suffering a slow agonizing, unbearable physical pain that racked her whole body. With a very rare brain cancer due to her exposure to burn pits on 2 different deployments to Iraq, even then she asked us not to hate the U.S. Army, that she signed up and gave an oath to do her duty, which she fulfilled as long as possible. Although the burn pits were abolished in 2010 due to the high incidence of rare cancers in our deployed military members, Jennifer had already made 2 of her 3 deployments. Her doctor, who worked with Special Ops and had seen this type of death more times than he wanted to, had the necessary paperwork to sign Jennifer up on the government burn pit registry.
Jennifer was born December 21, 1978, in Okinawa, Japan to us, Craig and Donna Kleman. After graduating from Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas, she enlisted in the United States Army on June 28, 2000, after participating in JROTC throughout her high school years, where she gleaned so many of the positive attributes that made her stand out in faithful service to and for her country and fellow military members. From her earliest years she showed a keen interest in serving in the military. Two of her great-grandfathers served during WW II, her grandfather during the Vietnam War, and her father during Desert Storm. She was proud to carry on the military tradition of her family and would be ever more so knowing the two young sons she left behind enlisted in the U.S. Army, one in Signal Corps like his mother, and the other a Combat Medic—her influence on all her family, friends, and fellow soldiers continues even today…
