When the 76th Infantry Brigade left the states and headed to the Middle East, Army Spc. Jeromy Leonard was one of the brave soldiers who shipped out with the brigade.

Leonard was born in Bartholomew County, but was relocated to Greensburg in 1995 when he was a teenager. He attended Greensburg Community High School where he spent his time playing football for the school’s team and working on small engines when he had time to relax.

“He was a typical boy,” his mother Sherry Leonard said.

As an Army specialist, Leonard’s duties in Iraq all stem from his involvement in the wheeled vehicle mechanics division. The soldier’s love of working with engines came in handy when he chose his division. When U.S. Army vehicles require maintenance, Leonard steps in to offer his help.

“He works mostly on the big trucks,” his mother said. “It’s his job to keep them running. When he travels with convoys, he takes the wrecker.”

His mother does her best to remain optimistic about her son in Iraq, but did receive some distressing news just weeks ago.

“His camp had just been mortared,” she said. “Mortars fell on the unit where he sleeps, and a couple of men were injured.”

He wasn’t there, but he should have been, she said, but his mother was glad he was away from the camp. It’s hard to deal with him being in harm’s way so far away, but she said she understands why he’s there.

According to his mother, Leonard expressed serious interest in joining the Army after seeing the World Trade Center towers fall in September of 2001.

“I think he just felt like if there was something he could do, he would,” she explained.

Seeing the Twin Towers collapse was not the only motivation Leonard received. His maternal grandfather, Zenis Vest, was a military policeman in Okinawa.

“It was something Jeromy felt like he needed to fulfill,” his mother said.

With the inspiration of his family and country behind him, Leonard went to Fort Jackson for initial boot camp. He then traveled to Camp Atterbury and to Fort Stewart in Georgia before heading off to Kuwait, the country that acts as a staging base for military operations in Iraq.

Before the young soldier left the country, he attended the farewell to Indiana soldiers at the RCA Dome in early January.

“The whole family went,” his mother said. “It was very emotional and there were lots of tears. We didn’t get to see him after the ceremony. It was hard. It was hard on everybody, every day.”