Marine Lance Cpl. Jabari N. Thompson

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Jabari N. Thompson, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

LCpl Thompson was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 17, 2011 of wounds sustained July 13 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.


In a heroic rush to aid a friend who had been shot, Lcpl Thompson stepped on a landmine and was badly injured, losing both his legs. He died four days later.

Lcpl Thompson's dad, Gregory, his big sister, Chekesha, and his fiancée, Shemiah Louis, having flown to Germany, were at his bedside when he died.

Lcpl Thompson, who graduated from South Shore High School, moved to Brooklyn from Florida after his mom passed away when he was a child. He wanted to be with her family and go to school in the city.

Lcpl Thompson, always wanting to be a Marine just like his dad, joined the Marines in January 2008. He was promoted to Lcpl March 2009. Having previously deployed to Haiti in 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan in February this year. He served as a machine gunner.


"The last thing I told him when he came home for Thanksgiving was, 'Be safe, Jabari. I want you to come back home alive.' And he smiled -- he had a lovely smile," said stepmom, Njaye Shinhoster.

"He said he loved us and that he'd be back," she said.

I was always so worried about him, but he would tell me not to worry. He said, 'Auntie, it's OK. I'll be back," sais Thompson's aunt, Novlete Hanson. She said she had received a letter from her nephew the week prior and in it he said he be back the first week of August.

"I just told him that I loved him and that I wanted him to try to make it because I knew he had a strong heart," said sister, Chekesha.

"He had gone through so much," she said, stating that their beloved mother had died more than 10 years ago. "The City of New York did so much for him."

I miss my little brother so much. Words cant express how I feel but I know he is in better place alongside with my mom. I'm so proud of my brother's accomplishments and I'm proud that he was a true hero for our country. He will never been forgotten. He will always be in my heart and the hearts of others. I love you so much. May you rest in peace. ~ Chekesha Thompson, Atlanta, Georgia

Lcpl Thompson is survived by his father, Gregory and stepmom, Njaye; sister, Chekesha; fiancee, Shemiah Louis; aunt, Novlette Hanson. He is preceded in death by his mother.