R.I.P. Staff Sgt. John J. Cleaver

Name: Army Staff Sgt. John J. Cleaver

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Age: 36

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From: Marysville, Wash.,

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Assigned to the 782d Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.,

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Incident: Army Staff Sgt. John J. Cleaver died Nov. 19 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when a suicide car-bomber attacked his unit. Also killed was Daniel A. Frazier.

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Died: November 19, 2009

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(Taken from http://thenews.tribune.com ) A Snohomish County soldier was among two paratroopers killed in southern Afghanistan last week when an insurgent detonated a car bomb near their unit.

Staff. Sgt. John J. Cleaver of Marysville and Sgt. Daniel A. Frazier of St. Joseph, Mo., died Nov. 19 near Forward Operating Base Shajoy in Zabul province. The two men served with 4th Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.

Cleaver's mother told The Joplin Globe of Missouri the soldiers were delivering supplies when a truck pulled up beside them and detonated. Several other soldiers were injured.

Cleaver enlisted in the Navy in 1995 and served in Kosovo and Iraq. He left the service after 10 years and joined the Army in June 2006 as a motor transport operator. He was on his second combat deployment with the 82nd Airborne Division.

"Staff Sgt. Cleaver was one of the most disciplined paratroopers that I have ever had a chance to work with," Capt. Burton Furlow, his company commander, said in a release. "He always set a standard and ensured that his paratroopers always meet that standard."