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November 29, 2009

By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

GALENA, Kan. — John Cleaver always wanted to be a soldier.

Staff Sgt. Cleaver, age 36, of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, was killed Nov. 19 in the Zabul province of Afghanistan. Cleaver was part of a convoy delivering supplies to a forward operating base when a truck pulled up beside his vehicle and exploded. Another soldier, Sgt. Daniel A. Frazier, also was killed, and several others were injured by the suicide bomber.

The message at his memorial service on Sunday was one of a life both full and fulfilled. Family and friends recalled that from an early age, Cleaver aspired to be like his grandfather, John Harold Poole, who lost his left leg in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

“It started with our grandfather, who was a World War II veteran,” said family spokesman Travis Schuler, Cleaver’s first cousin and a member of the U.S. Air Force. “Our grandfather set the example to us as children to what American heroes are. We are a very patriotic family.”

Another cousin, Jason Schuler, said he recalled John’s concern as a teenager, that a severely broken arm would hurt his ability to enlist.

“He was all worried that he would not be able to go into the military,” Jason Schuler said. “It bothered him. He didn’t want that to hold him back.”

Jason Schuler also said his cousin was up for a promotion to become an Army medic, because “he was more into saving lives than taking lives.”

He was the son of Ronald and Teresa Cleaver, of Joplin, Mo., and attended Eastmorland Elementary and North Middle School in Joplin, and Galena High School. He later attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., where he learned to fly small aircraft, and Crowder College, where he became certified as an emergency medical technician. He also served as a volunteer firefighter at Carl Junction.

Cleaver joined the Navy in 1995 and was stationed on the USS Inchon at Ingleside, Texas. He served in Kosovo. He later moved to Norfolk, Va., where he was a firefighter instructor for three years.

He then transferred to Seattle, where he set up a firefighter training school and was stationed on the USS Rodney M. Davis, soon deploying to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After serving 10 years, he left the Navy as a petty officer and enlisted in the Army. Shortly after arriving at Fort Bragg, N.C., he was deployed to Afghanistan as a convoy commander and a medic.

Upon returning from that tour of duty, Cleaver completed paratrooper training and had been working to become a master jumper.

He is survived by his parents, his two sons, Collin and Aidan Cleaver, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

On Sunday, the auditorium at the Galena High School was filled nearly to capacity by family, friends, and fellow veterans who came to pay their respects. Dozens of members of the Patriot Guard, a motorcycle group of veterans who bring flags and support to families of dead servicemen lined the parking lot of the high school.

The Rev. Jill Cameron Michel, of South Joplin Christian Church, shared a story with those in attendance about Cleaver’s many passions in civilian life.

Love of life

“Even as a child and a young man, it was apparent that John Cleaver loved life and lived it fully,” she said. “As his mother has said, he could fly a plane, jump out of it, fight fires, fight terrorism, dress your wounds, and turn around and make you a martini.”

The services included full military honors, and the presentations of both Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals were made to John Cleaver’s mother and his two sons.

One of the men who served with Cleaver both at home and in Afghanistan is Sgt. First Class Jeffrey Griffey. Griffey recalled that his friend was disciplined in uniform and generous with friends.

“John was very meticulous,” Griffey said before the memorial service. “He’d come bugging you for a bolt because his mirror was loose, and I’ve got my guys trying to put in three transmissions. You’d have to run him off, but he’d be back 20 or 30 minutes later. He was the most disciplined soldier we had in our company.”

Memorial planned

Members of the Galena High School class of 1992 announced at the memorial service plans to erect a permanent memorial for John Cleaver at the high school.

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