Jason Marchand, oil on canvas
I am very honored to have done this painting to honor this soldier and hopefully to touch his entire family. Thank you Jason for your sacrifice. Below is info about Jason from the website set up for him by my friend Eric, his stepbrother.
Jason Marchand was born on April 8, 1981. His parents are Dr. William Marchand, MD, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Debbie Parsons of Greenwood, West Virginia.
Jason was a 2000 graduate of Doddridge County High School in West Union, West Virginia, where he played football and ran track.
Some time in 2005, Jason decided to enlist in the United States Army.
There were no visions of battlefield heroism, nor any of anything less than doing his duty and doing it well. He asked his brother, Richard, to join with him, and Richard replied "No way am I going to let those Taliban SOB's shoot me!"
He felt that his duty was to keep terrorism and those responsible from coming to America. Jason found that the Army suited him well and graduated from the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, on November 18, 2005.
Jason was assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany, which trains at Grafenwoehr Training Area. Jason loved being in Germany and enjoyed his year and a half staying there.
"He called me on Aug. 10 and said he was calling to wish me a happy birthday a little early -- my birthday is Aug. 12," his mother, Debbie, said. "But I knew he was going to say he was being sent to Iraq."
On May 8, 2007, the Department of Defense announced that the 2SCR would deploy to Iraq sometime in August of 2007. They departed Germany for the Middle East on August 28, 2007.
Jason did not particularly enjoy being in Iraq, but felt it his duty to protect his family, and said that “his buddies needed him.”
On October 2, 2007, Jason made a phone call home to Debbie to let her know that his squadron would be departing their base for approximately 2 weeks conducting special operations and would be out-of-touch until he returned.
Being the good West Virginia boy that he was, his closing words to his mother were “I love you, Mommy.” Debbie told her son that she loved him too, and to be careful.
Three days later, Debbie received a call from some family members telling her that a couple of soldiers were looking for her. Fearing the worst, she rushed home.
"I knew immediately," she said. "My heart stopped. When they came to the house, I didn’t want to let them in, hoping that would stop the news."
“Three days earlier he was calling to tell me he loved me, and then at 3 PM they were telling me he was gone.”
Jason left behind a six year old daughter, Savannah, who lives with her mother, Jamanda, and a large family that still cares deeply for him, including mother Debbie, father Bill, brothers Wayne and Richard, stepfather Rich, stepbrother Eric, stepsister Jennifer, niece Haley, several cousins, aunts, uncles, and a large number of friends.
Jason was posthumously appointed to the rank of Corporal, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service, in addition to the Purple Heart.
In honor of his brother's bravery, Richard did join the Army. He left West Virginia for Fort Leonard Wood and basic training on January 29, 2008.
As a final thought, Jason may be gone from us physically, but in our hearts and minds, he lives on forever. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him, and thank him for his unflinching sacrifice for our country, and for the freedom of others unknown to him. For some reason, it does help to know that Richard will serve our country just as proudly.
-----Eric
