On this day, 13 years ago, Jerry Michael Durbin Jr. was killed in action when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated while he was on patrol in Iraq. Today, I would like to honor him, his family and his friends with this blog post, on the anniversary of his death.

Michael's early life

Michael was born on July 6th, 1979, in Houston, Texas. He grew up in Spring, Texas, and attended Nimitz High School. There he excelled in sports. He played baseball, ran track and ran the offense for his school's football team as the quarterback. Back at home, he was the oldest of five children. His grandfather said that Michael enjoyed working with computers and programming. Michael had much confidence and lots of charisma. He had a keen sense of humor and a sharp mind. Furthermore, his father said: "When he entered into a room, he drew everyone's attention." Michael later attended Kingwood College. In 2001, he married his girlfriend Janelle, and in March of the same year, he entered the service. His dream was to work for the CIA, and he figured the first step to achieving that goal was by joining the Army.

Michael's military service

After having completed training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Michael was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. He later moved to Fort Carson, Colorado. Michael attended Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) and then became a Staff Sergeant and platoon leader for 1st platoon, B Company. In November 2004, Michael moved to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His men loved and admired him. Soldiers who served alongside him said that he was a mentor to them. Furthermore, they all said that Michael had an excellent sense of humor, and even long after he'd been gone, they still enjoy telling stories about him and have a good laugh.

On the website Legacy.com, a site where anyone can write a short message about a person who has passed, I found a personal message left by one of Michael's Brothers-In-Arms. I found it to be very strong and touching, as its so personal and directed straight to Michael:

"Michael and I served together since he came to Fort Carson. We were always in the same squad or section. We lived in the same neighborhood and we rode to work together almost every day. We shared time together in Kuwait, NTC, and Iraq. I held his babies and helped Janelle when he was in PLDC. Sadly, after that we were separated, he went to Fort Campbell, and I went to Korea. He was what I would call my best friend. Bro, you know I can never forget you. I will always remember you, and I would always take one for you. I wish I could have been there and traded mine for yours. I always had your back brother, and now that you are gone I will do whatever I can for your family. I'll see you when I get there."

SSG Anthony W. Elmore

In 2005, the 502nd was called upon to deploy for 15 months to Iraq. Their job consisted of improving security conditions in their AO (Area of Operations), near Baghdad. The statistics say that approximately 4,200 IEDs were detonated near Baghdad between 2004 and 2008. On January 25th 2006, one of those 4,200 exploded, taking the life of 26 year old Staff Sgt. Jerry Michael Durbin Jr. He rests today at the Houston National Cemetery, Section S2 Site 24.

Michael was loved by everyone who knew him. His family, friends, soldiers, and even those, like myself, who never had the chance to meet him in person.To end this blog post, I would like to leave my own message to Michael and his family:

I would like to start my message off by extending to the Durbin family my deepest and truest condolences. Though Michael left this world over a decade ago, a loss like yours can never be erased. I do the best I can to remember fallen heroes like Michael, and I hope that my work is proof to you that his sacrifice won't be lost in time.

To Michael, I thank you for your heroic sacrifice. And although you will never see my message, I hope that you are up there, somewhere, hearing these words of awe and humility resonate through my heart, all the way to where you might be. You will never be forgotten.

May you rest in eternal peace,
Richie

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13