Linda McDaniel of Coweta holds a photo of her son, Army Spc. Jonathan Paul Barnes, who was
killed during the weekend in Iraq. With her are her daughters, (from left) Tonia May, holding her
son Connor, and Kim Riley.
JOHN CLANTON / Tulsa World
COWETA -- A soldier
who grew up in Coweta was
among three U.S. servicemembers killed over the
weekend in a grenade attack
in Iraq, a relative said Monday.
Spc. Jonathan Paul Barnes,
21, died Saturday while
guarding a children's hospital
in Baqouba, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Kim
Riley, Barnes' sister.
A married father of one,
Barnes was a member of the
4th Infantry Division, which
numbers between 16,000 and
20,000 troops, said his sister.
"What are the odds that
out of the whole the 4th Infantry, one of the three
(killed) would be him?" Riley
said.
She heard news of the attack Saturday, and military
officials notified her family of
Barnes' death Sunday, Riley
said.
He and two comrades were
killed as a result of a grenade being thrown from a window of an
Iraqi civilian hospital, according to
a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
"He was assigned to follow the
3rd Infantry when they invaded
Baghdad," Riley said. "But they
went in and took over Baghdad so
easily that just before he was
shipped, his infantry ended up
staying to guard the airport and radio and television stations as they
were being rebuilt.
"He was assigned
to the children's hospital because they were
storing weapons there."
Barnes is believed to be the first
Cowetan to die in the Iraq conflict.
Eight soldiers from Coweta were
killed while fighting in the Vietnam
War. That number was the most
for any town in the United States,
on a per capita basis.
Cowetan Dana Fransisco, who
helped organize the sending of
care packages to the local troops,
said about 50 soldiers from the
town have served in the war
against Iraq.
"He wrote several letters and always said there was nothing to
worry about," Riley said of her
brother. "He asked every time
about his house because we were
to take care of the grass and the
bills. And he always asked about
family."
Barnes met his wife of three
years, Amanda, in Anderson, Mo.,
northeast of Grove, Riley said.
Amanda and her daughter, Michelle, who turns 3 next month, were
staying in Anderson while Barnes
was overseas, the sister said.
Born in Muskogee, Barnes attended school in Coweta until
about the 10th grade. Home-schooled thereafter, he eventually
earned his high school equivalency
test.
He joined the military after a recruiting visit to Joplin, Mo., and
underwent basic training in Fort
Benning, Ga., Riley said. Barnes
served in Korea and Kuwait before
being sent to Iraq, she said.
Having begun taking law enforcement classes in the service,
Barnes had designs on becoming a
member of the highway patrol, his
sister said.
"He wanted to find a way to better his education and also support
his family better," Riley said. "He
chose to join the military. He
thought that way, not only would
he have housing for them but that
he would be a better provider."
Barnes' body is expected to arrive in Fort Hood, Texas, next
week, Riley said. His wife has requested that Barnes be buried in a
cemetery in Anderson, Riley said.
Rhett Morgan 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
