Third-Generation Soldier

by Laurel Schlegel

Jordan L. Bear

June 7, 1986 - March 1, 2012

As a proud member of the Denver, Colorado indigenous community, Jordan L. Bear had a tremendous impact on both his country and community. Bear served as a paratrooper in the Afghanistan War for the U.S. Army for seven years before he was killed in action at his base in Afghanistan at the age of 25.[1] He is remembered as a loving son, brother, and father.

Bear was born on June 7, 1986.[2] He grew up in Denver, Colorado and was raised primarily by his mother, Cathleen Bear. He was one of three boys in the Bear family, including his older brother Jacob and his younger brother Joshua. The boys attended Denver Public Schools growing up. Their grandmother, Ida Bear, was also very present in their lives growing up, as she helped to raise Jordan and his brothers.[3]

The family’s cultural heritage stemmed from both Italian and Native American roots. Bear’s father was of Italian descent, but he did not live with the Bears for much of their childhood.[4] Bear’s mother’s side of the family is American Indian. His grandmother, Ida, was born on a Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) reservation in Nebraska.[5] When she was young, she was relocated to a Native American boarding school in California. At the time this was a federal government policy which required Indian children to be educated away from their home reservation with the goal of replacing traditional Native Americans ways of life with those of “mainstream” white American culture.[6] Ida later married Logan Bear, who was also Native American, officially recognized as Omaha and Ponca. Logan Bear served in the military as well, and the couple moved to Denver where they had three children, including Jordan’s mother.[7]

Jordan attended John F. Kennedy High School in Denver. He played on his high school football team, and was remembered as a hard worker who stayed out of trouble.[8] Jacob, his brother, remembers looking up to Jordan growing up.[9] According to his mom, Cathleen, he was called Sluggo by everyone because he looked like the character in the old “Nancy and Sluggo” cartoon strip.[10] Ida, his grandmother, was very involved in both the Denver Native American community and her local Catholic church, the Church of All Saints.[11] She raised her children and grandchildren with this in mind and, as a result, Jordan was well-known within the Denver indigenous community.[12] In 2001, amidst tensions surrounding the annual Columbus Day parade, Jordan and his older brother were asked by a reporter for The Denver Post about their stance.[13] The boys were divided because some people, many of Italian descent, supported the parade. Supporters believed in the right to honor Christopher Columbus, someone revered as an important part of Italian heritage. Yet those who protested the parade did not feel that Columbus, a man responsible for violence towards, and deaths of, countless indigenous peoples, should be honored. Opponents, many of which included Chicana/os and Native Americans, were hoping for a “spiritual march” to replace the parade. Jordan and his brother, being of both Italian and Native American descent, were naturally confused about the situation and the boys spoke out about their desire for both constituencies to be able to work together for a solution.[14] Small actions such as these represent Jordan’s sense of engagement and care for his family and community.

Jordan graduated from high school in the summer of 2004, and immediately enlisted in the military in September of that year.[15] He was the third generation of the Bear family to serve in the military.[16] Jordan completed One Station Unit Training and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning in Georgia.[17] In 2005, he was assigned to Fort Bragg in North Carolina where he was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division three times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.[18]

Operation Enduring Freedom officially began with allied airstrikes in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11th of that year, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans.[19] The terrorist attacks were linked to a group known as al Qaeda, which operated under the protection of the Taliban regime.[20] Operation Enduring Freedom was launched with the goal of preventing the Taliban from continuing to provide a safe haven to al Qaeda in Afghanistan.[21] Forces in Afghanistan fought against the Taliban insurgency, as well as the corrupt Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Border Police.[22]

Bear was first deployed to Afghanistan in February of 2007.[23] By this point in the war, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and several other NATO forces had agreed to send troops to Afghanistan.[24] When Bear arrived in Afghanistan, there were already about 50,000 US and NATO troops there.[25] His first deployment lasted until April of 2008. He was then deployed again, a year later, in August of 2009.[26] At the end of that year, with an increase in U.S. troops announced by President Obama, there were a total of about 100,000 U.S. troops and 40,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan.[27] Bear’s second deployment lasted until July of 2010. About a year later, on May 2, 2011, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.[28] The violence continued in Afghanistan, however, and Bear’s time there was not finished.

About a year after returning from his second deployment, in the summer of 2011, Jordan married a woman named Sarah.[29] In the following December they had a son, whom they named Kayden Bear. This was his second child. He had a daughter three years earlier named Kailee Holbrook. Sarah and his children reside in Elton, Wisconsin.[30]

In 2012, Bear went on his third deployment to Afghanistan. He was stationed on an Afghan-NATO base in South Kandahar province.[31] In February of that year, reports that Qurans were burned at Bagram Airbase, a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, led to violent protests.[32] In retaliation to these reports, several members of the Afghan National Army at Bear’s base turned their weapons on his unit.[33] Army officials told Jordan’s mother that he had been trying to lift a wounded soldier who had fallen next to him when he was shot and killed.[34] Bear and one other infantryman, Spc. Payton Jones, were killed in the attack on March 1, 2012. After Bear’s death, Capt. Cecil Wolberton, the Commander of Company B remarked, “Staff Sgt. Bear set the example for all the squad leaders in his Platoon. He was a phenomenal leader and beloved by the men he led.”[35]

During his time in service, Bear was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the NATO Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Good Conduct Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 combat stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Parachutist Badge.[36]

Bear’s service as an American Indian is an important part of who he was as well. Native Americans have a long history of serving in the United States Armed Forces and, according to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, “in recent decades, they have served at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group.”[37] In the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian men and women continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in high numbers.[38] According to the Smithsonian, of the current 1.2 million servicemen and women, 24,000 of these are Native Americans.[39] This is a remarkable statistic, given the complicated relationship that indigenous people have had with the U.S. government. From colonization and genocide, to the intentional suppression of Native culture, and the forced relocation of natives from their homelands onto reservations, it is hard to understand why so many would choose to serve and sacrifice their lives, like Bear did, for this country. The Smithsonian explains that it is oftentimes because service in the armed forces is considered a continuation of the warrior role in traditional Native culture.[40] Likewise, servicemen and women are often some of the most honored community members in Native American communities as well.[41] Looking at the Bear family, this is clear. As a third-generation soldier, Jordan and his family respected his path as a soldier. In the end however, for many American Indians, their choice to serve their country comes down to protecting their homeland and families, just like it would for any other soldier. For many, it is the love of home and country that drives them to serve their country.[42]

Bear was loved and honored by many. Representative Reid Ribble of Wisconsin remarked, “Staff Sergeant Bear embodied the best qualities of a true American soldier. He served this country with honor and exhibited profound bravery and selflessness. Staff Sergeant Bear was a loving son, a devoted father and now he will forever be known as an American hero. He is remembered by friends and family as a man with a courageous and strong spirit who earned the unwavering respect of his peers.”[43] Bear is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery. At the time of his death, his daughter was four years old and his son was two months old. The gravity of his loss was clear at his funeral as his family and friends gathered for a four-day wake where a fire burned for the wake’s entirety. This is a Native American tradition said to carry his family’s prayers to Bear in the smoke. Rituals like this are often used today by native communities to continue traditions that either help returning veterans heal or, as in Jordan’s case, help those who died overseas find their way in the afterlife.[44] The week after Bear’s death, Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado ordered the flags to be lowered to half-staff on all public buildings statewide to honor his service.[45] Jordan was clearly a true hero, not only to his friends and family, but to his community and country as well.

Footnotes ↓

[1] “U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current,” entry for Jordan L. Bear, database, accessed July, 2019, www.ancestrylibrary.com.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Claire Martin, “Ida Bear Found Her Calling in Catholicism,” The Denver Post, August 22, 2013, 6A.

[4] Tina Griego, “Caught Between Two Nations,” The Denver Post, July 21, 2001.

[5] Martin, “Ida Bear Found Her Calling in Catholicism.”

[6] “Native Words Native Warriors: Boarding Schools” accessed October 2, 2019, https://americanindian.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter3.html.

[7] Martin, “Ida Bear Found Her Calling in Catholicism.”

[8] Tina Griego, “Pride Amid the Pain: Third-generation GI Found Order, Death in Afghanistan,” The Denver Post, March 4, 2012, 1B.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] “American Indian College Fund Honors Local Native Elders at Eleventh Annual Holiday Dinner,” States News Service, December 16, 2011.

[12] Griego, “Pride Amid the Pain.”

[13] Griego, “Caught Between Two Nations.”

[14] Ibid.

[15] Griego, “Pride Amid the Pain.”

[16] Ibid.

[17] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com, accessed October 2, 2019, https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=323821.

[18] Ibid.

[19] “Operation Enduring Freedom,” Naval History and Heritage Command, accessed October 2, 2019, https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/middle-east/operation-enduring-freedom.html.

[20] “Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts,” CNN, accessed October 2, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/world/operation-enduring-freedom-fast-facts/index.html.

[21] Ibid.

[22] “Operation Enduring Freedom,” Naval History and Heritage Command.

[23] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com.

[24] “Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts,” CNN.

[25] Ibid.

[26] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com.

[27] “Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts,” CNN.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Griego, “Pride Amid the Pain.”

[30] George Hesselberg, “Deputies Carry a Heavy Burden Memorial Day; in Lafayette County, War Toll Hits Sheriff's Department Especially Hard; Memorial Day” Wisconsin State Journal, May 28, 2012.

[31] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com.

[32] “Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts,” CNN.

[33] Howard Altman, “Capitol Hill Spotlight on Commanders,” The Tampa Tribune, March 5, 2012.

[34] “Colorado Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Memorialized,” CBS Denver, May 3, 2012, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/03/colorado-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan-memorialized/.

[35] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com.

[36] Ibid.

[37] “Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces,” Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, accessed October 2, 1019, https://americanindian.si.edu/static/patriot-nations/index.html.

[38] “Patriot Nations: Global Conflicts in the 21st Century,” Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, accessed October 2, 2019, https://americanindian.si.edu/static/patriot-nations/21st-century-conflicts.html.

[39] Ibid.

[40] “Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces,” Smithsonian.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Ibid.

[43] “Bear, Jordan, SSG,” togetherweserved.com.

[44] “Patriot Nations: Our Spirits Will Protect You,” Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, accessed October 2, 2019, https://americanindian.si.edu/static/patriot-nations/our-spirits.html.