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WEST HAVEN -- Utah's newest recipient of the military's Silver Star got his award this morning. Six-year-old Jase Spargur was all smiles as the general of the Utah National Guard handed him the award.
Jase's father, 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom, was killed this past summer in Afghanistan. The military and his family decided having Jase get his father's award was the right thing to do.
Living in West Haven, children probably hear about the military all the time, but it's not every day the military comes to their school.
Wednesday's visit to Kanesville Elementary School wasn't a demonstration, though, or even a guest speaker talking about what the military does. It was all for Jase. "I'm gonna get the Silver Star," he explained.
The Silver Star is one of the military's highest honors. Young Jase is getting it because of what his father did overseas. "Because my dad died in the war, and he was a brave soldier," Jase said.
His father was 24 years old when he was killed during a battle in Afghanistan. All of a sudden, Jase's best friend wasn't going to be there anymore.
Jase's family lived in Hawaii. He and his dad surfed together, went swimming together, did practically everything together. "They were in the water all the time. Since we lived in Hawaii, Jase was born in Hawaii. He was in the water from before he could walk," said Jase's mother, Lindsey Spargur.
Jase and his mother moved to West Haven. During Wednesday's ceremony at Kanesville Elementary, a slide show was played with pictures of and Jase and his dad. There wasn't a dry eye in the building; both adults and fellow students could feel the emotion.
When the military decided to award Brostrom the Silver Star, it just made sense to everyone to have Jase get it.
"When he's older, he'll understand a little bit more the impact it has," Lindsey said.
For now, it's just a reminder of the good times, of his father and how much fun the two had during their short time together. "I'm gonna hang it up in my room somewhere," Jase said.
Jase told KSL he thought it was cool that all of his classmates got to be there with him. Now he says he'll be able to tell all of them about his dad and how much he misses him.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
