Last roll call for 2 soldiers killed trying to calm a gunman, protect others
United States Army soldier Jonathon Prins did not answer his last earthly roll call Friday, yet his sister gently touched the soil of the final place where Prins stood boldly alive.
In separate memorial services in the metropolitan area, Prins and Charles Allen Judge Jr. were eulogized for their costly selflessness. This week, they were gunned down after they ran to intercede between a gunman, the woman he chased and a small crowd that tried to help her.
At Fort Jackson’s Main Post Chapel, 1st Sgt. Jihad Franklin called out loud to Prins.
“Sergeant First Class Prins,” Franklin said during the memorial service. There was no response.
“Sergeant First Class Jonathon Prins,” came the second call. Silence.
Finally, a fuller call from Franklin: “Sergeant First Class Jonathon M. Prins.”
Still no answer – only weeping from those assembled to say goodbye.
“He is the long-lost best friend you never knew you had,” 1st Battalion Commander Lt. Col Michael T. Whitney said of the 29-year-old Prins. “Everyone who met him is better for having known him. The final heroic moments of his life are a testament to this fact.”
First Lt. Frankie Moore, Prins’ company commander at the post, said, “When I received a call about drill sergeant Prins, I didn’t want to believe it. As the pieces of the event started to come together, I was not surprised to find out he had placed himself in the face of danger to help someone.”
Fending off tears, Staff Sgt. Spencer Palmer, a friend of Prins, memorialized him like this: “The phrase, ‘I got your back, bro’ ... when he said it, you knew he meant it. He was always one to put others above himself.”
Miles away on the northern shore of Lake Murray at the Frayed Knot Bar & Grill where Prins and Judge were shot nearly a week ago, a very pregnant Courtney Jernigan kneeled and placed her hand on the ground.
“I saw where my brother died,” Jernigan, 28, said. “And it was the best way for me to say goodbye.”
Owners of the restaurant and bar, and a company named AquaFun, organized an event to honor Prins and Judge, 40, a member of the S.C. National Guard who was promoted to sergeant first class posthumously.
The event started around 4 p.m., with about 50 boats that launched from across the vast lake to arrive about an hour later at the Frayed Knot.
A crowd gathered to hear Fort Jackson Chaplain Clyde Scott celebrate all service personnel, including law enforcement and rescue workers.
“Both were soldiers who lived the seven Army core values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage,” Scott said of Judge and Prins. “While they embodied all seven values on this particular evening they practiced selfless service to the point of sacrificing their own lives. It’s what soldiers do.”
Jernigan, who also attend the Fort Jackson memorial, was thankful for the event.
She plans to return from out of state for an Oct. 15 celebration at the restaurant, where the proceeds are being pledged to help the families of Prins and Judge, both of whom were fathers.
The two soldiers were shot multiple times by a man authorities say had been chasing and beating a woman.
Joseph Elijah Mills, of Little Mountain, is charged with two counts of murder. No one mentioned him at Friday’s memorials. Judge’s family held a private funeral Friday in the Spartanburg County town of Lyman.
But memories of Prins, a native of Norfolk, Va., were strong here.
Staff Sgt. Shawn A. Burns, remembered Prins for his laughter, his smile and the ribbing he took for being “a pretty boy.”
“Jonathon died protecting someone he didn’t even know,” Burns said during the on-post service. “Think about what that says about him, about his character.”
Prins joined the Army in July 2006 and became a fire support specialist. He was deployed to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom and twice to Afghanistan. Prins was awarded the Bronze Star, the Medal of Valor and the Meritorious Service Medal, among others.
He is survived by his wife, Roxanne, and three children, daughters Marissa and Savannah, and son Julian.
This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Last roll call for 2 soldiers killed trying to calm a gunman, protect others."