Jerry Lee Wilson
Command Sergeant Major, U.S. Army

Jerry Lee Wilson was born on 28 June 1958 in Thomson, GA. He was a McDuffie County native and a 1976 graduate of Thomson High School. Wilson entered the U.S. Army in June of 1976 and decided to make the Army his career.

On 23 November 2003, Jerry was serving as the Command Sergeant Major of 2nd Brigade, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, KY, and currently supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in Mosul, Iraq.

On that day, CSM Wilson, 45, and SPC Rel A. Ravago IV, 21, of Glendale, CA, were killed in action when their vehicle was attacked in Mosul. Initial reports said the two were pelted with concrete blocks, but the Army has said there was no evidence the men were beaten after their vehicle was shot and crashed into a wall.

CSM Wilson was the recipient of numerous medals and awards.

Death and Burial

Command Sergeant Major Jerry Lee Wilson was killed in action on Sunday, 23 November 2003 in Mosul, Iraq. He is buried at Savannah Valley Memorial Gardens in Thomson, GA.

Wilson is survived by two sons, Mantrell Wilson of Augusta, GA, and Sidney Wilson of Thomson, GA; a granddaughter, JeKiya Jackson Wilson of Jonesboro, GA; a sister, Susan Milton of Thomson, GA; and his mother, Daisy Wilson.

Remarks About CSM Wilson

Lai Ling Jew, a producer for NBC News who was embedded in Iraq with Wilson, said, "He was a great man, someone I see as a consummate gentleman with the physique of a gladiator." She and some soldiers said Wilson had a contagious smile and gentleness like none other. "I will never forget that smile or his selflessness," said Jew, crying.

Others remembered him as being a mentor. "If there's somebody in the military better at being a coach and mentor than Command Sergeant Major Wilson, I haven't met him," said Sergeant First Class Julius Chambers. Wilson was, at one time, Chambers' platoon sergeant.