
HOBART, Wis. — Ryan Jerabek wanted to go to college and become a history teacher. But first he wanted to serve his country, so he joined the Marine Corps, despite his father’s protests.
In March, the 18-year-old Jerabek shipped out to Iraq and on April 6, Ken and Rita Jerabek got the news their son had been killed.
“He said, ‘Dad, maybe I can go over there and make a change,’” Ken Jerabek. “‘Maybe I can do something with the people and show them that we’re not animals here, you know.’”
Ryan Jerabek, a 2003 graduate of Pulaski High School, was killed in a firefight in Ramadi, Iraq, a region where more than 15 Marines...