Jerry Moon was a protector of the people as a child and grew up to be an American Hero in the Army, yet he didn’t see himself as a Hero like many of us regarded him. The end of watch came for Lt. Col. Jerry Moon on September 21, 2023, when he died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Jerry grew up in Kewanee and graduated from Kewanee High School in 1988. Jerry enlisted in the Army after graduation, and after 33 years of Service, retired in 2021 as a Lieutenant Colonel. This piece is personal for me because Jerry Moon is my cousin but he always felt like a big brother. Jerry leaves behind his wife Traci, daughters Savannah and Sydney, stepson Brandon, parents Bill and Leatha, sister Missy, brother Aaron, grandson Elijah, granddaughters Scarlett and Luna, niece Darrah, nephews Dillon and Cole, Aunts and Uncles, cousins and countless friends and teammates. Jerry treated everyone like family. If he saw you struggling, he would reach out and offer to help and give words of encouragement. The full obituary is under the pictures at the bottom of the page.
Jerry and Traci were high school sweethearts but life took them to different places for 28 years. Eight short years ago, Jerry and Traci found their way back to each other and were married on May 29, 2016. Unlike me, Jerry adapted to the “farm life” and enjoyed working the land and tending to the animals. After decades serving his county at home and in war zones, Jerry and Traci purchased a farm in Weston, Missouri. He achieved his dream of owning a farm and was proud of his farm, which they named “The Moon Homestead”. Traci said “Just like everyone who knew Jerry, I am shattered. I am broken. This life will never be the same without him in it because he was my everything.”
Before his prestigious military career, Jerry was a gifted athlete at Kewanee High School. He proudly wore his #66 football jersey on and off the football field. Jerry was an Army Ranger for 7.5 years. He was hand-picked to be the driver for his unit’s Colonel until the Colonel decided that Jerry could best serve the Army as a Second Lieutenant. The Colonel arranged for Jerry to receive a full ROTC Scholarship to Western Illinois University in the “Green to Gold Program”. Jerry was commissioned to the Military Intelligence Branch but ended up with the Army’s Classified Special Operations Forces (SOF). Jerry was assigned to the 160th Aviation Regiment when the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks hit the twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Jerry was one of the first Americans to land in Uzbekistan to begin what was called “The Global War on Terror”. Jerry was sent to Florida to take part in the plan to prepare for the first Special Forces teams that were going to deploy from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan. If you have watched the movie ‘Horse Soldiers’, Jerry was one of the three Special Forces Teams deployed after 9/11. Jerry left Afghanistan in March 2002 but returned in May of 2022 until February of 2023. Jerry served around 38 months in Iraq over three tours, where he was wounded in two IED Attacks, which caused serious internal injuries that plagued him until the day he died.
In addition to Afghanistan and Iraq, he provided his specialized support to operations in Somalia, Honduras, Columbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tunisia, and Morocco. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal four times, the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal three times, the Army Commendation Medal twice and an Army Achievement Medal. Jerry also earned the Combat Action Badge, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Parachute Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the NATO Medal for Bosnia and the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project. If you would like to help with funeral expenses, Jerry’s friend Julie started a goFundMe to start a memorial fund. Please email memories and stories you have with Jerry to Pastor Andrew Christman at [email protected] to be part of the eulogy.
Visitation will be from 5 PM to 8 PM, Friday, September 29, 2023, in the Petersen Auditorium at Kewanee High School. Funeral Services will be at 10 AM, Saturday, September 30, 2023, in the Petersen Auditorium. Funeral services will also be live streamed on the Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home Facebook page. Pastor Andrew Christman will officiate. Burial will be in the Pleasant View Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Aaron Moon, Brad Nuding, Cole Moon, Dillon Schilling, Don DeMay, Peewee Davis, Dr. Tom A. Wiggins, and Tony Vujakovich. Honorary Pallbearers will be Brandon Fuentes, Gregg Schilling, and Mark Russell. Military rites will be accorded by the Kewanee Veterans Council and active servicemen. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project. Please leave an online condolence for Lt. Col. Jerry A. Moon’s family at www.golnickschuenemanfh.com.
Full Obituary for Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Allen Moon:
Lt. Col. Jerry A. Moon, US. Army, Ret., 53, of Weston, MO, died Thursday, September 21, 2023, due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. He was born June 1, 1970, in Killeen, Texas, the son of William “Bill” A. and Leatha C. (Russell) Moon. He graduated from Kewanee High School with the class of 1988. He also attended Western Illinois University and obtained a Ph. D. from the University of Kansas. He married Traci J. Imler on May 29, 2016, in Weston, MO; she survives.
He is also survived by his parents; daughters, Sydney Noel (Sterling) Karr (Moon) of Crestview, Florida and Savannah Lea (Jesus) Espinosa (Moon) of Fort Novosel, Alabama; stepson, Brandon Fuentes of Washington, D.C.; grandson, Elijah Espinosa; granddaughters, Scarlett Karr and Luna Espinosa; sister, Missy (Gregg) Schilling (Moon) of Victoria; brother, Aaron Moon of Kewanee; nephews, Dillon Schilling of Victoria and Cole Moon of Kewanee; and a niece, Darrah Schilling of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
Jerry enlisted in the Army after high school and served 7.5 years in the prestigious and very tough Ranger Regiment, achieving the rank of SGT (E-5). While serving as his colonel’s driver, a hand-picked position in any unit, the colonel, impressed by Jerry’s mind and his personality, decided that Jerry could best serve the Army by becoming a Second Lieutenant, and arranged for Jerry to receive a full college ROTC scholarship to Western Illinois University in the “Green to Gold” program. He was commissioned into the Military Intelligence branch, but Jerry’s career was so unusual that he eventually strayed completely from Military Intelligence assignments to make unique and valuable contributions to the Army’s classified Special Operation Forces (SOF).
One of Jerry’s early assignments as a lieutenant was as a Scout Platoon Leader in a conventional battalion, a job always given to a sharp, up-and-coming small unit leader. After some additional conventional Army schools, he was eventually assigned to a battalion of the 160th Aviation Regiment where his talents in a small, unique field were recognized. He was serving there when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were demolished on September 11, 2001. When President Bush ordered the Armed Services to enter Afghanistan and administer justice to those living there who deserved it, Jerry was sent to Central Command headquarters in Tampa, FL to participate in the planning. When Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was briefed on the plan, he expressed concern about properly preparing the way for the first Special Forces teams which were going to deploy from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan to commence what became known as the Global War on Terror. As a result of Secretary Rumsfeld’s keen questioning of the plan, improvements were made and Jerry, because of his rare qualifications, became the first American soldier to land in Uzbekistan in late September 2001. We don’t know if he volunteered or was chosen for the job, but Jerry’s talents and personality were exactly what were needed in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan at that time. Those of you who have seen the movie “Horse Soldiers,” might recall that those 3 Special Forces teams deployed from “somewhere” into Afghanistan. Jerry was at that “somewhere,” and he was, literally, the first American soldier to put his boots on that ground.
Jerry moved into Afghanistan to support the SOF operations designed to kill or capture Al Qaeda terrorists, chief among them Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban who had supported bin Laden pre-9/11. He left Afghanistan in March 2002 but was returned in May of the same year, leaving again in February 2003. Before he had a chance to relax, he was ordered to Iraq the very next month, and was an MI company commander in the 101st during its march from Kuwait to Mosul. He worked among the Kurdish people until April 2004. In October 2005, Jerry returned to Iraq, still an MI company commander in the 101st Airborne Division, this time in the infamous “Sunni Triangle.” He left Iraq in August 2006, but returned in SEP 2009 to Al Kut, another garden spot, this one run by the Shia. He left Iraq in October 2010. Jerry served roughly 38 months in Iraq on 3 tours. While there, he was wounded in two IED attacks which produced the severe internal injuries which plagued him for the rest of his life.
Wherever the US Army’s best SOF units went, so did Jerry. In addition to Afghanistan, he provided his specialized support to operations in Somalia, Honduras, Columbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tunisia, and Morocco. During Jerry’s 33 years of Army service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal four times, the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal three times, the Army Commendation Medal twice, and an Army Achievement Medal. Jerry also earned the Combat Action Badge, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Parachute Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the NATO Medal for Bosnia, and the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon.
Visitation will be from 5:00 – 8:00 pm, Friday, September 29, 2023, in the Petersen Auditorium at Kewanee High School. Funeral Services will be at 10:00 am, Saturday, September 30, 2023, in the Petersen Auditorium. Funeral services will also be live streamed on the Golnick-Schueneman Funeral Home Facebook page. Pastor Andrew Christman will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Aaron Moon, Brad Nuding, Cole Moon, Dillon Schilling, Don DeMay, Peewee Davis, Dr. Tom A. Wiggins, and Tony Vujakovich. Honorary Pallbearers will be Brandon Fuentes, Gregg Schilling, and Mark Russell. Military rites will be accorded by the Kewanee Veterans Council and active servicemen. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project. Please leave an online condolence for Lt. Col. Jerry A. Moon’s family at www.golnickschuenemanfh.com.
