Rolling Honor

Specialist Johnathan Bryan Chism was born on November 28, 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. SPC Chism attended LTC Automotive School and then enlisted in the Army on March 10, 2005 in Gonzales, LA. He graduated One Station Unit Training as a Field Artilleryman from D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 80th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Upon completion of One Station Unit Training and Airborne School he was assigned to 4th BCT (ABN), 25th ID to Fort Richardson, Alaska. On August 30, 2005 he arrived at A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment where he served as a Cannoneer.

He participated in several training exercises with the battalion and participated in the Joint Readiness Training Center Exercise 06-09 and then deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-07. While deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment he was under the tactical control of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, where he participated in numerous combat operations and patrols in North Babil and the Karbala Province. SPC Chism was killed in action during combat operations in the Karbala Province on January 20, 2007.

SPC Chism's awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Parachutist Badge. He earned and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, and the Combat Action Badge.

SPC Chism is survived by his mother, Elizabeth, and father, Danny.