IRAQ WAR CLAIMS 1ST APOPKAN
Jason Dwelley died when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Family says he tried to "hide" his big heart.
by John Peery
From The Apopka Chief, 7 May 2004
Quennell Dwelley searched the internet Friday, April 30, during the afternoon hours. She was looking for a map of Iraq to see where her son Jason was serving as a member of the Seabees, a U.S. Navy group that works on buildings, roads, and other infrastructure needs.
She found a map that served her purposes and printed it out, but she would realize later that "by that time he was already dead."
The son of John and Quennell Dwelley of Apopka, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Bosley Dwelley, 31, became the first Apopkan to be killed in the Iraq war. He was killed at 8:35 p.m. Iraq time on April 30, which would have been at 12:35 p.m. that same day in Apopka.
He and Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher M. Dickerson, 33, of Eastman, Ga., were killed when "their military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while traveling in a convoy," according to a Department of Defense press release. The family said they were told he was killed by three roadside bombs that were set off as the military convoy traveled on the outskirts of Fallujah. Jason Dwelley had been stationed in Ramadi, Iraq, the family said.
Quennell Dwelley and her husband John received word of their son's death on April 30, at 8:55 p.m. when they were visited at their Apopka home by Naval officers, including Lt. Rick Arnold.
"When we saw the white uniforms, we knew," John Dwelley said.
The officers made telephone calls for the family, the first one being a call to Ken Bogle, the assistant pastor of their church, Trinity Baptist of Apopka.
"They were a blessing to me under the conditions," John Dwelley said about the officers who delivered the news.
John and Quennell Dwelley, along with one of their daughters, Dara Delaney, talked about Jason on Tuesday, May 4, remembering him as an "individualist," Quennell Dwelley said.
"He was his own person," she said with a big smile. "What you saw was what you got. He was soft spoken and didn't like crowds."
Jason Dwelley
"He had a big heart," Dara Delaney said about her brother. "He tried to hide it, but he couldn't," John Dwelley said. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled the large and expensive Thomas Kincaide painting that his son bought for him that now hangs over the fireplace at the Dwelley home.
"He was a Christian," Quennell Dwelley said about her son. "I believe he still loved the Lord."
A Naval reservist, Jason Dwelley had been accepted for fall classes at the University of Central Florida and was attending classes at Valencia Community College when he was called up to active duty in February.
Jason's 1990 AHS yearbook photo.
Jason Dwelley graduated from Apopka High School in 1990, working at Universal Studios Orlando during high school and immediately after graduation. But, true to his family's description, he had experienced some unusual things in his life, including two years he spent working on a fishing boat in Alaska. "He was kind of adventurous," John Dwelley said about his son.
Jason joined the Navy in 1994, staying for six years on active duty. His son matured greatly while in the service, John Dwelley said. "He was a 100 percent different person from when he went into the Navy."
While in the Navy, Jason received several medals, including the Good Conduct medal, National Defense Service medal, two Armed Forces Expeditionary medals, five Battle E's, and two Sea Service Deployment ribbons.
Jason Dwelley had been in the reserves for 3 1/2 years until his death. His four-year enlistment in the reserves would not have ended until this August, but he had already re-enlisted the family said because he wanted to take advantage of education funds another four years as a reservist would have provided him. He had re-enlisted late last year, but could do so only by agreeing to be deployed to Iraq, if needed.
After being called up in February, Jason Dwelley left Apopka on March 2, his mother said, and he spent a month in Gulfport, Miss., for training. He went to Kuwait for a week before spending the final two weeks of his life in Iraq, Quennell Dwelley said.
The family said they supported the war in Iraq before their son was killed, and they still do.
John Dwelley cited wars earlier in this century designed to provide freedom for Americans and others. "If we hadn't had war, those people wouldn't be free.
"I hate the loss, but I look at how free I am."
Quennell Dwelley said the personal loss makes real her reading and seeing about others killed in Iraq. "Until it's you, you don't know how they (the families) feel."
However, she said sympathy shown to the family by friends and even strangers has been overwhelming. "Words can't express how much it means," she said. "I think it's brought the community together."
John Dwelley said the support the family has received has been a "learning experience for me." In the past, he said he wouldn't visit families when loved ones died because, "I didn't know what to say." He says he now knows. "All I've got to do is show up." That means a lot, he said. "It touched my heart that they came."
Jason and his sisters Amanda and Dara, Christmas 2002.
In addition to his parents, Jason Dwelley is survived by two sisters, Dara Delaney of Orlando, and Amanda Dwelley of Apopka. There are also three half-sisters, Teresa Senn, Brenda Martin, and Diana Bichard, all of Orlando. He is also survived by his grandmother, Nancy Dwelley of Pomeroy, Ohio.
A memorial service was held Thursday, May 6, at Trinity Baptist Church of Apopka. The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Trinity Baptist Church, 1022 S. Orange Blossom Trail, Apopka, or to the Ocean Conservancy at www.oceanconservancy.org.
A military interment will be held Saturday, May 8, at 11 a.m. at Rock Sink Baptist Church in Old Town, which is located near Cross City in Dixie County.
Between the tears and the laughter in remembering Jason, Quennell Dwelley wanted to make sure one thought the family had was clear as people expressed their sympathy: "We're proud of him."
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