thedrifter
08-06-08, 07:36 AM
A Marine hero
FD families remember JJ Bonnell on the one-year anniversary of his death in Iraq
By BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
POSTED: August 6, 2008
When Denise Rork thinks about a cross-country trip with her son to Disneyland about two years ago, a slight smile brightens her face.
The trip from Iowa to California with her late son, Jon E. ''JJ'' Bonnell Jr., is one of the Fort Dodge woman's favorite memories.
Bonnell's father, Jon Bonnell Sr., of Fort Dodge, always cracks up when he remembers playing tennis with his son. The elder Bonnell has played tennis since he was about 10, and his athletic son, a 6-foot-2-inch Marine, never could beat him.
Happy memories like those are what the Bonnell and Rork families will try to focus on today - the one-year anniversary of JJ Bonnell's death in Iraq. He was serving as a sergeant in a Marine Corps field artillery unit.
He was 22, and hoping for a long military career.
''I don't want people to forget that they have their freedom because of JJ,'' Denise Rork said.
Like all parents, she always strived to make things better for her son. She can't do that anymore, and that has troubled her deeply since he died.
''I don't know if I am dealing with it,'' she said.
A billboard bearing a photo of JJ Bonnell in the distinctive dress blue uniform of a Marine has been placed at various locations around Fort Dodge since he died. Denise Rork cries every time she sees it.
But she wants her son to be remembered as something other than a war casualty. She hopes he's remembered as someone who liked to draw, who was passionate about baseball and loved his family.
''You never not think about him,'' the fallen Marine's father said. ''I kind of got to a level where I can talk about it. He's in my mind a lot every day.''
The Bonnells and the Rorks agree that the outpouring of community support after JJ Bonnell's death was both astonishing and comforting.
''I just can't believe how much support that the town has done,'' Jon Bonnell Sr. said.
From student
to Marine
When JJ Bonnell enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003, he surprised his family.
At the time, he was a senior at Fort Dodge Senior High School.
Brandy Rork and Tasha Rork, his older sisters, said they had talked to him about the possibility of enrolling in Iowa Central Community College.
Tasha Rork said she believes he chose the Marine Corps because it would allow him to go places and do things he'd never get to do otherwise.
''There was no talking him out of it,'' Bonnell's mother said.
His father clearly recalls JJ Bonnell calling with news of his enlistment.
''He said 'Dad, I did something I don't think you're going to like, but I had to do it,''' Jon Bonnell Sr. said. ''I said 'What's that?' And he replied, 'I enlisted in the Marines.''
Marines picked JJ Bonnell up at his mother's home to start his trip to boot camp.
''I was pretty settled with what he was doing until he went to Iraq,'' Denise Rork said.
Before he went to Iraq, he was assigned to Camp Pendleton in California. He and his mother made their memorable road trip from Fort Dodge to Oceanside, Calif., in 2006. There, they toured Disneyland and she visited the base where her son was stationed.
Back to Iraq
JJ Bonnell was a veteran of a previous tour of duty in Iraq and a relief mission following the December 2004 Asian tsunami before he deployed for his fateful 2007 Iraq mission. At the time he was a member of B Battery, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
In letters and phone calls to his family, he offered no details on what he was doing in Iraq.
Family members suspect that on the night he died, JJ Bonnell volunteered to go out on a mission after completing a full day of duty.
''He jumped in and volunteered all the time and was good at everything he did,'' Denise Rork said.
Jon Bonnell Sr. agreed.
''He wanted to do it,'' he said. ''Anything they needed help with, he jumped to it.''
On the night of Aug. 6, 2007, the Marines needed help checking out a suspicious truck loaded with watermelons that had been parked alongside a road all day.
As Bonnell approached the driver's side of the truck, there was a huge blast. He was killed.
Another Marine was blinded and lost the use of his right arm. Two other Marines suffered less serious wounds. Two Iraqis in the truck were also killed.
The next morning, the Bonnell and Rork families received the kind of visit all military families fear.
At 5:30 a.m. Aug. 7, two Marines rang the doorbell at the Bonnell residence. Across town, three other Marines did the same thing at the Rork house.
Donna Bonnell, JJ Bonnell's grandmother, opened the door. She at first thought the Marines were police officers.
When Jon Bonnell Sr. came to the door, he recognized the uniforms immediately. Upon seeing them, memories of his son rolled through his mind like scenes from a film.
''I said, 'Is my son gone?' and they didn't say anything,'' he said. ''I said again, 'Is my son gone? You can tell me that.' I don't think they knew what to say.''
The Marines found their voices and delivered the dreaded news. The Bonnells recalled that the Marines were as devastated as they were.
A city and nation mourn
On Aug. 13, about 500 people filed into the gymnasium at Fort Dodge Senior High School for the funeral. Later that day, JJ Bonnell was laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery on Fifth Avenue South.
In the days and weeks that followed, tributes rolled in. There were letters from military officers, President George W. Bush and even a state flag and a letter from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took an interest in JJ Bonnell because he was assigned to Camp Pendleton in that state.
The Rorks and Bonnells now bear tributes to their family hero wherever they go. Denise Rork has a tattoo of her son on her arm. Tasha Rork has a tattoo of her brother's dog tag. Jon Bonnell Sr. wears a bracelet embossed with his son's name. Sarah Bonnell, the Marine's younger sister, wears one of his dog tags all the time.
''He was a wonderful brother and a hero that will never be forgotten,'' Sarah Bonnell said.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
Ellie
FD families remember JJ Bonnell on the one-year anniversary of his death in Iraq
By BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
POSTED: August 6, 2008
When Denise Rork thinks about a cross-country trip with her son to Disneyland about two years ago, a slight smile brightens her face.
The trip from Iowa to California with her late son, Jon E. ''JJ'' Bonnell Jr., is one of the Fort Dodge woman's favorite memories.
Bonnell's father, Jon Bonnell Sr., of Fort Dodge, always cracks up when he remembers playing tennis with his son. The elder Bonnell has played tennis since he was about 10, and his athletic son, a 6-foot-2-inch Marine, never could beat him.
Happy memories like those are what the Bonnell and Rork families will try to focus on today - the one-year anniversary of JJ Bonnell's death in Iraq. He was serving as a sergeant in a Marine Corps field artillery unit.
He was 22, and hoping for a long military career.
''I don't want people to forget that they have their freedom because of JJ,'' Denise Rork said.
Like all parents, she always strived to make things better for her son. She can't do that anymore, and that has troubled her deeply since he died.
''I don't know if I am dealing with it,'' she said.
A billboard bearing a photo of JJ Bonnell in the distinctive dress blue uniform of a Marine has been placed at various locations around Fort Dodge since he died. Denise Rork cries every time she sees it.
But she wants her son to be remembered as something other than a war casualty. She hopes he's remembered as someone who liked to draw, who was passionate about baseball and loved his family.
''You never not think about him,'' the fallen Marine's father said. ''I kind of got to a level where I can talk about it. He's in my mind a lot every day.''
The Bonnells and the Rorks agree that the outpouring of community support after JJ Bonnell's death was both astonishing and comforting.
''I just can't believe how much support that the town has done,'' Jon Bonnell Sr. said.
From student
to Marine
When JJ Bonnell enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003, he surprised his family.
At the time, he was a senior at Fort Dodge Senior High School.
Brandy Rork and Tasha Rork, his older sisters, said they had talked to him about the possibility of enrolling in Iowa Central Community College.
Tasha Rork said she believes he chose the Marine Corps because it would allow him to go places and do things he'd never get to do otherwise.
''There was no talking him out of it,'' Bonnell's mother said.
His father clearly recalls JJ Bonnell calling with news of his enlistment.
''He said 'Dad, I did something I don't think you're going to like, but I had to do it,''' Jon Bonnell Sr. said. ''I said 'What's that?' And he replied, 'I enlisted in the Marines.''
Marines picked JJ Bonnell up at his mother's home to start his trip to boot camp.
''I was pretty settled with what he was doing until he went to Iraq,'' Denise Rork said.
Before he went to Iraq, he was assigned to Camp Pendleton in California. He and his mother made their memorable road trip from Fort Dodge to Oceanside, Calif., in 2006. There, they toured Disneyland and she visited the base where her son was stationed.
Back to Iraq
JJ Bonnell was a veteran of a previous tour of duty in Iraq and a relief mission following the December 2004 Asian tsunami before he deployed for his fateful 2007 Iraq mission. At the time he was a member of B Battery, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
In letters and phone calls to his family, he offered no details on what he was doing in Iraq.
Family members suspect that on the night he died, JJ Bonnell volunteered to go out on a mission after completing a full day of duty.
''He jumped in and volunteered all the time and was good at everything he did,'' Denise Rork said.
Jon Bonnell Sr. agreed.
''He wanted to do it,'' he said. ''Anything they needed help with, he jumped to it.''
On the night of Aug. 6, 2007, the Marines needed help checking out a suspicious truck loaded with watermelons that had been parked alongside a road all day.
As Bonnell approached the driver's side of the truck, there was a huge blast. He was killed.
Another Marine was blinded and lost the use of his right arm. Two other Marines suffered less serious wounds. Two Iraqis in the truck were also killed.
The next morning, the Bonnell and Rork families received the kind of visit all military families fear.
At 5:30 a.m. Aug. 7, two Marines rang the doorbell at the Bonnell residence. Across town, three other Marines did the same thing at the Rork house.
Donna Bonnell, JJ Bonnell's grandmother, opened the door. She at first thought the Marines were police officers.
When Jon Bonnell Sr. came to the door, he recognized the uniforms immediately. Upon seeing them, memories of his son rolled through his mind like scenes from a film.
''I said, 'Is my son gone?' and they didn't say anything,'' he said. ''I said again, 'Is my son gone? You can tell me that.' I don't think they knew what to say.''
The Marines found their voices and delivered the dreaded news. The Bonnells recalled that the Marines were as devastated as they were.
A city and nation mourn
On Aug. 13, about 500 people filed into the gymnasium at Fort Dodge Senior High School for the funeral. Later that day, JJ Bonnell was laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery on Fifth Avenue South.
In the days and weeks that followed, tributes rolled in. There were letters from military officers, President George W. Bush and even a state flag and a letter from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took an interest in JJ Bonnell because he was assigned to Camp Pendleton in that state.
The Rorks and Bonnells now bear tributes to their family hero wherever they go. Denise Rork has a tattoo of her son on her arm. Tasha Rork has a tattoo of her brother's dog tag. Jon Bonnell Sr. wears a bracelet embossed with his son's name. Sarah Bonnell, the Marine's younger sister, wears one of his dog tags all the time.
''He was a wonderful brother and a hero that will never be forgotten,'' Sarah Bonnell said.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
Ellie