Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe, 21, of Johnsonville, Ill.

Cpl. Lowe was assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died Jan. 11, 2010 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham and Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski.

Cpl Lowe enlisted in August 2007 and arrived on Okinawa a year later. His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal ISAF, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

“He was driven to be the best, and it showed in everything he did,” Maj. Jordan Walzer, the corporal’s officer-in-charge in Afghanistan, said in the statement.

Rasch said Lowe “had a huge impact on the morale of his company and his platoon.”

The flag in front of Cisne High School was flying at half-staff Tuesday in honor of Marine Cpl. Jamie Lowe, a 2007 graduate of the school who was killed in action Monday in Afghanistan.

"A minister came Monday afternoon and got Jamie's brother, Cody, and I knew right then what had happened," said Penny Arnold, Cisne High School principal. "I brought the students and teachers together this morning and told them what had happened. We had a moment of silence, and there were a lot of tears."

Lowe, 21, who served with the U.S. Marine Corps in the 3rd Reconnaissance Unit, died Monday during a gunbattle with insurgents.

He is the son of Kevin and Teresa Lowe of Johnsonville.

"He wanted to be a Marine very early on," Arnold said.

"He was in the Young Marines out of Mount Vernon, Ill., through high school and joined the Marines right after graduation." She described him as a "friendly kid that everyone liked".

Teresa Lowe was at work Monday afternoon at Orchardville Community Church, where she is head of the children's program, when news came of her son's death.

"Kevin (Lowe) called Teresa and told her that the military was at their house," said Mark Shell, pastor at the church.

"We drove Teresa from church to home, and I joined them a short time later. Teresa commented that her father died in Vietnam — now her son was killed in Afghanistan. What an ultimate sacrifice."

Teresa Lowe's cousin, David Legg of Fairfield, remembers Lowe as a hard-working kid who did part-time welding at his manufacturing shop during summers.

"My wife and I were driving back from Missouri and heard on the news that three Americans lost their lives in Afghanistan," Legg said. "We pulled into a restaurant for lunch, and just a short time later got a call that Jamie was one of them."

Teresa Lowe was an infant when her father, Verdell Solomon, was killed during the Vietnam War. "He never got to see Teresa, but heard her cry one time over the telephone. What an awful tragedy," Legg said.

The sign in front of Cisne High School now reads "Corporal Jamie Lowe — Thank you for serving our country."

Arnold said a moment of silence was scheduled for Tuesday night's boys' basketball game with Sandoval. Players were asked to wear black bands on their uniforms, with the cheerleaders wearing black ribbons.

Besides his parents, Lowe is survived by two brothers, Cody and Hunter Lowe, both at home.

Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe was killed in action on 01/11/10.