Jason C. Ramseyer

Wednesday, April 26 2006 @ 05:32 AM EDT

www.newsobserver.com -- After the Marines in the convoy spotted the suspicious mound by the roadside Thursday, it was natural that Staff Sgt. Jason C. Ramseyer was the one who stepped forward to investigate. Ramseyer, 28, of Lenoir, was always a leader, always the first to get promoted, the first to set an example.

On the trash-strewn roads of western Iraq, most things that look like improvised bombs turn out to be nothing. But after he trudged through the dust to get close enough for a look, Ramseyer decided there was a good chance the mound was the real thing.

"As soon as he turned to tell everybody to go back, it exploded," said his wife, Amanda.

Shrapnel hit Ramseyer in the upper legs. Still, he was conscious an hour later when he arrived at a field hospital, his wife said.

"He told the doctor that he didn't want to die, that he had more to live for and that he loved me and his girls," she said.

Ramseyer had lost too much blood. The Pentagon announced his death Monday afternoon.

Survivors include daughters Rylee, 3, and Kadence, 2; mother, Cindy Hicks of Lenoir; father, Jimmy Ramseyer of Grand Ridge, Fla.; and two sisters, Cathy Ramseyer of Washington and Amanda Ramseyer of New York City.

Ramseyer was born in Florida but moved to Lenoir when he was 13. A wrestler at West Caldwell High School, he carried just 130 or 140 pounds on his 5-foot-8 frame. It was at school that he met Amanda Gilmore, and the 14-year-olds became best friends.

All through high school he wanted to be a Marine; he left for boot camp after graduation in 1996. Gilmore, meanwhile, went off to college. It was only later that romance bloomed.

In the Marines, Ramseyer was stationed at Camp Lejeune, at Quantico in Virginia and most recently in Hawaii. Amanda Ramseyer said her husband was known for being a motivator and leader, routinely earning quick promotions.

This was his third deployment. In Iraq he had started the paperwork to take a nondeployable job at Quantico so the family could be together for good.

"We were inseparable," his wife said. "He was everything you could want. He had to travel a lot, but he always helped me plan for that and always included me in the decisions."

The family plans two memorial services: one in Lenoir, at Mountain Grove Baptist Church, and another at Arlington National Cemetery. The dates hadn't been set, but his wife said the family hoped to hold the service in Lenoir on Friday.

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