Just back from Afghanistan, Army Rangers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord this week recognized a six-time combat veteran whose death gained national attention in August when his widow confronted former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about rising military suicides.
Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann, 25, of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, killed himself June 28 at Lewis-McChord. The Yelm soldier left behind a wife and two children.
His widow, Ashley Joppa-Hagemann, pushed for the Rangers to give him a memorial service in the same manner that it honors soldiers who die in combat. Her efforts to draw attention to his suicide peaked when she challenged Rumsfeld at Rumsfeld’s Lewis-McChord book-signing event. She was escorted off the base.
Hagemann was buried July 15 with military honors in his hometown of Ripon, Calif. Lewis-McChord had its ceremony Tuesday.
“Simply put, Jared was one of our nation’s best,” said Maj. Tony Keller, commander of Hagemann’s Ranger company. “He signed up to serve his nation and protect his family during a time of war.
“Remember him for his actions overseas while he defended this great country, and remember him as a loving father to his sons,” Keller said at Wednesday’s ceremony.
The Ranger regiment in a news release said that the soldier’s parents and widow attended the memorial.
Ashley Joppa-Hagemann shared in August that her husband showed strains after returning from a deployment in 2009. She said he’d drink too much to forget what he had seen and tried to kill himself three times.
When he was released from a mental health commitment in 2009, she said he wanted to resign from the Rangers but was pressured by comrades to stay in.
The Ranger regiment said in Wednesday’s release that Hagemann had re-enlisted for another six years during his last deployment, in 2010-11.
The Ranger battalion returned from Afghanistan last week, ending its 15th deployment since the war on terror began. It is planning a memorial service for four soldiers who were killed in combat on this tour.
Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646 adam.ashton@thenewstribune.com
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