Staff Sergeant Jesse G. Clowers Jr. was born on January 26, 1980, and was a native of Lebanon, Virginia, in the mountains of the state’s southwest. He later lived in Northern Virginia, and the Department of Defense listed his hometown as Herndon.
Jesse enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in June 2004 and completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He volunteered for Special Forces and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2006. He was assigned as a Special Forces communications sergeant to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). His military education also includes the Basic Airborne Course, the Warrior Leader Course, the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course and Spanish language training.
In March 2007 Jesse deployed to Afghanistan with his team in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, his first combat tour. He left home when his wife, Kaytie, was seven months pregnant with their second child, and he looked forward to coming home in September to meet his newborn daughter, Danielle. “He was definitely counting down the days,” his sister Nikki said. “Almost every e-mail he sent us, he was talking about how much he was looking forward to hugging his wife and playing with his son and meeting his baby girl.”
On August 12, 2007, an improvised explosive device detonated near Jesse’s vehicle in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. He was killed along with his teammate, Sergeant First Class Jeffrey Kettle, and Sergeant Charles Kitowski, a psychological operations soldier. Jesse was 27 years old. His decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
Jesse’s family speaks of him with simple, enduring love. “He had some amazing accomplishments, but that is not what defined him,” they wrote. “Everyone called him a gentle giant, as he would give the last shirt off his back for anyone, and that includes those he did not even know. Jesse’s heart was one of the kindest and his soul was also one of the purest. He loved his kids, family and friends like no other. He has been and will forever be our hero.”
Jesse is survived by his wife, Kaytie; his son, Jesse; his daughter, Danielle; his mother, Joyce; and his sisters, Nikki Clowers and Kristi Millican.
SSG Jesse Clowers enlisted in 2004 and served as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant in 2nd Battalion, 7th SFG(A) until his sacrifice in Nangarhar Province.
7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Sources
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Jesse Clowers bio and family stage brief
- Military Times Honor the Fallen: Army Staff Sgt. Jesse G. Clowers Jr.
- Green Beret Foundation: Jesse G. Clowers
- ARSOF History: Jesse G. Clowers Jr.
- Connection Newspapers: Herndon Green Beret killed in Afghanistan (Aug. 14, 2007)
