 First Coast News -- JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Teachers at Sandalwood High School remember graduate Jere Hughes, who died Wednesday in Iraq, as "one of the best" students they ever taught.
Army Specialist Jeremiah C. Hughes, 26, died April 9 in Balad, Iraq.
The Department of Defense says he died of "injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident" in Abu Gharab.
The incident remains under investigation.
Hughes, who went by “Jere,” graduated from Sandalwood High School in 1999.
Linda Cugini, who taught Hughes in her English class, remembered him as a witty, well-read, and very mature student. "He could have been teaching a class at his young age," she said.
Hughes was "one of the best students" she ever taught, she said.
Physics teacher Jerry Langford remembers seeing Hughes in camouflage clothes even before he signed any military paperwork, and Langford saw the military as a natural fit for a young man with an analytical mind like Hughes'.
Despite never actually taking a class with Langford, Hughes would often come by the teacher's room and show him designs for everything from motors to water pressure-powered rockets that Hughes had drawn up himself.
Langford said Hughes would ask for suggestions and study ways to improve his work.
According to his MySpace page, Hughes was married. 
A blog post on Hughes' MySpace page indicates he left for Iraq from his base in Hawaii in late 2007 or early 2008 for a 15-month tour of duty. He had been to Iraq before, according to the post.
A military release says Hughes served with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
He joined the Army in July 1999, just weeks after his graduation from Sandalwood. He has been stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii since January 2000. |
I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
"Duty"(21st Inf. Motto)