RIP, SFC Jonn Lilyea (Pinned as first post)
Well, we all end the Land Nav course of life someday, and for Jonn, that day was yesterday. He had a heart attack and passed away at the hospital. All men die, not all men truly live. Jonn did though, Lord knows Jonn did.
Wish I knew something to say to help with the pain, but after a sleepless night and some decidedly non-manly sobbing, I just don’t even know what to say. He was a friend, he was a mentor, and I’ll miss him. From meeting my wife to getting my job to the son I named after Jonn, I pretty much owe him in some part for everything I have, and it’s not a debt I take lightly. (Somewhat humorously, my last actual conversation with Jonn was about how his namesake, Ransom Jonn Seavey is a fat happy kid who just plays….until Moana comes on and then dude sits there all starry eyed. I postulated that giving him the name must have made him love what Jonn always called lovingly the “Little Brown Women.”)
As twisted as it is, I’ll never forget the exact moment that Jonn and I bonded. I was blogging at The Sniper, and he had this enterprise going, but the old schoolers will remember that if we got 10 comments back then than the post was on fire. But “Army Sergeant” invited the two of us to Winter Soldier, and although I *internet knew* Jonn, I didn’t *really* know him. We got to the hearings and the IVAW people segregated us from everyone else and gave us full time minders that literally read our posts as they went up. We were both almost at the bailing point when one guy got up and told some asinine story about how they blew up an old lady with a Mk 19, even though she was bringing them groceries. The story was so preposterous on the face of it that Jonn and I started guffawing. Here we were in a room full of dirty old 60’s hippies who were crying and Jonn and I were laughing so hard we started crying too.
I’m not going to go through his whole bio, you guys know it probably as well or better than I do. He was a hero in every sense of the word, but the most amazing thing was that dude was harder than iron, but he had a soft spot, which was forgiving but just as no-nonsense. He didn’t care what anyone did in the military but was grateful for that service, and never valued his own service higher than anyone else’s. The way he became the IVAW whisperer and helped some of those guys out was the epitome of what the brotherhood of veterans was all about. Sure, he’d give them no end of shit, but if they needed help Jonn would drop whatever he was doing and see that they got that help.
Nothing has been locked down as far as a service. We know he wanted to be buried in his uniform in Arlington, a place I’ve been to many times with him. As things become clearer I’ll let you guys know what’s up. Ditto the blog, we’ll talk about that after we’re done grieving.
If you are a person of faith, I’d ask you to pray for Jonn’s family during this time of profound mourning. If you are a warrior, drink to our friend as he makes his way to Valhalla. They’ll probably make him the sergeant at arms there so he can toss out the phonies that show up uninvited with ludicrous stories of Top Secret derring-do.
As I sat there last night remembering all the times I’d spent with Jonn I thought of Invictus, which fits Jonn to a T.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
RIP buddy. We love you.
Category: Arlington National Cemetary, We Remember
Until Valhalla Jonn
Geez…when did Jonn pass? If I counted right, he was onlyu 63? That is too young imho….
Jonn, you did good. The one thing that comes to mind when I think of you is “Fix Bayonets”. I’m chuckling through the sorrow as all the phonies in Heaven are getting ready to get called out.
Thank you, Brother Man, for all that you were and all that you always will ever be. RIP, Soldier.
Rest in peace. Jonn. We’ll take it from here.
My condolences go out to his family, his friends, and to this community. As was pointed out above, his emails ended with “Welcome Home”.
For our souls, our true home is the spirit world, and that’s where Jonn is destined after he comforts his friends and family. He is going to face a welcome home group consisting of those that predeceased him, and those still living. We leave a part of our soul in the spirit domain before we are born.
We’re never really apart from our friends and family, as just as death is an illusion to the soul, so is separation related to the death.
Jonn knows know that death is just an illusion. He is free from his pain, and immobility. He’s experiencing a form of freedom that that exceeds any form of freedom we experience while in the flesh.
He has done a lot of good for the veteran community, through this blog, as well as individually as noted above, as well as what he has done beyond our radars. This is among the things that’ll reflect well during his post physical life review.
Jonn is home, welcome home.
I did not know Jonn as well as some did. We exchanges emails at times and he was always supportive and honest to a fault. I cannot laud more upon Jonn than those who knew him personally.
I am now and will continue to pray for Jonn’s family.
God rest you Jonn, in well deserved peace my Brother.
I have written that sentence so many times for those whom Jonn never failed to memorialize here. It is a more painful writing now than ever before.
I often refer to this blog as my TAH family. Now my family mourns together. God be with each of you as well.
Well said my friend, well said indeed.
I know exactly how it feels, Sparks.
Son of a bitch….that is TERRIBLE news to hear. I stumbled across this page fairly late in it’s development (around 2015?). I always looked forward to the sheer lunacy of SV and how bad the actors were, and how they more or less gave themselves away. Jonn’s balance of the lunacy of the posers and the depravity of us in here always made me smile.
God Bless Jonn. Rest easy on the other side.
SFC Jonn Lilyea and CAPT Carrol LeFon are two men I never met, yet they were tremendous influences on my life and were men to emulate. Both gone, and as sure as there’s a God in heaven, they’re sharing a drink and telling stories right now. Heaven is in good hands.
Lex was one of my favorites as well. I had the great pleasure of breaking bread (and sharing a few beers) with him during the mil-blog conferences in D.C. And I thoroughly enjoyed his blog.
Ouch, I’m crying like a little girl here, Jonn and I exchanged a few emails and I truly enjoyed those exchanges.
I can’t thank him enough for this place either, I stumbled onto this forum by accident some years back and just felt like I was home.
Being able to spout my cranky old curmudgeon views here was a wonderful release, getting to read all the responses good or bad was also priceless to me.
My sincere condolences to his family and friends, we never met face to face, I’ve never met any of you face to face but I really feel this place was a brotherhood where we were all friends even if we disagree with each other.
Until Valhalla Sergeant Lilyea!
Rest in Peace Young Soldier . You have earned your place in Heaven .
So very sad to hear this. I had always hoped to meet him in person some day.
Love and condolences to the family in this trying time.
Rest easy my friend.
Welcome Home.
Taken too young; RIP SFC Jonn Lilyea, and my condolences to your family.
I started with this site in like 2010 i think? Commented on here every now and then, John even hooked me up with someone trying to get me a job, truly a stand up guy. God speed brother, De Opresso Liber.
Please tell me that this is a hoax, or some sort of weird joke.
There’s nothing I would like to tell you more. And at 2am as I sobbed I hoped someone would tell me the same. But it’s not. Our friend has left this mortal coil.
((hugs))
Love ya!
Slip away Airborne.
RIP
Rip jonn
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Through TAH, Jonn brought us together as a Family. He was our Matriarch who bonded us together as Brothers and Sisters, as well as creating new friendship among us.
One good person can touch more hearts than we will ever know. Rest in Peace and a salute to you, Warrior Soldier. You have left a lasting legacy; we will never forget you. Friends are Forever.
Prayers, thoughts and wishing comfort for Jonn’s family and close friends.
Patriarch,
I bet Jonn would laugh at that typo or make some snide remark about not having a vagina the last time he checked.
😀 🙁 🙁
Thank you, ChipNASA, for bringing a smile back to my face with what Jonn might have responded to me. You are right. Always loved Jonn’s dry sense of humor.
After I posted my comment, I did a “OH, HECK, NO!” and immediately turned off Auto-Correct. I still can’t figure out how “patriarch” automatically corrected to “matriarch”.. That’s what I get for proofreading afterwards..🤔
Was hoping no one caught it, but knew in the back of my mind there were sharp folks out there that pay attention to detail…so you got me!
Forgive me, Jonn…am knocking out those pushups for the BEST Platoon SGT/PATRIARCH ever…
Thanks again, ChipNASA!👍
(In the “mother hen” sense, you may have been OK without correction. Besides, in comparison, not really all that important. But still, worthy of a much needed smile.)
1:15 in the morning and I’m still going through TAH.
I’m at home and I can’t sleep and good thing it’s Friday night. I’d be screwed for a few days at work.
LOL but not LOL AND and LOL but I can only hear Jonn’s voice from the dumbass youtube stuff he posted from the dickweeds here in the long past.
I won’t mention them AS TO not sully Jonn’s memory.
KISS ALL YOUR GOT-DAMN FACES, BITCHES!!!
I can seriously think I can head Jonn gruff no nonsense voice in my head if I only heard it on youtube and over my voicemail.
Man, I am sad to hear this. Rest in peace, Jonn.
Shocking. Loss for words.
RIP
Rest in peace brother. Will miss his strength and unparalleled wit.
I, like others had hoped this was a hoax. Even Duffleblog couldn’t be this cruel. There are no words that will comfort any of you but each and every one of us was blessed for knowing Jonn, no matter how we knew him.
May God Bless those he leaves behind, blood and brotherhood.
Jonn, you were the best.
R.I.P. retired SFC JONN LILYEA ..our deepest condolences to his family and friends…
Rest easy, Top. You’ve earned it.
“Every Man dies, not every Man truly lives.”
RIP Jonn, you truly lived and made many Good People’s lives brighter.
I know some of you barely knew or in some cases never met Jonn in person, yet his energy and influence still touched you. That is a testament to his character.
To all of you offering prayers to his friends and family, I want to say thank you very much.
I was not only fortunate enough to have met Jonn and been very close friends for almost 30 years, I served in combat with him.
I hadn’t touched a drink of hard liquor in 30 years until late last night when I poured 3 fingers of Panamanian Rum with two cubes of ice, lit a cigar and sat on my patio saying a long tearful goodbye.
At least I know now that when my time comes I will be met by a dear friend and the Patrol Base WILL BE SQUARED THE FUCK AWAY!
God Speed Platoon SGT.
^^This^^
Sorry for you loss COB6
My prayers are with you, COB6, as well as Jonn’s family.
RIP Jonn.
Words cannot express my sorrow at hearing this news. Jonn was a good soul . He stood up for all of us whenever he thought veterans were getting a raw deal . I wanted to meet him in person. But between here and FB I was content . I looked up to him. and I feel that since he is. No longer here I will not follow the blog anymore after today. My heart and my prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time. RIP Jonn
Thank you Jonn, RIP.
To Jonn’s family: Thank you for sharing Jonn with us all these years. You will never know how much you mean to us for doing that. May you find some comfort in knowing that we are all with you on your journey of grief.
To all my brothers and sister of TAH: This is going to take a while but we will eventually get through it. That’s what I am going to tell myself as long as it takes to make me believe it.
Many of you do not know of Bill Faith, but it took a long time to get over his loss. This will probably take even longer. Not that you ever actually “get over” profound losses, but the inevitable adjustment will happen. For myself, a few significant personal losses occurred in between Bill leaving us and now Jonn. Tough days.
Going to my quiet place now. Carry on.
Just saw this. Born the same year as me. Gone waaay too young. Rest In Peace Sarge, we’ve got the watch. Prayers out to his family and friends
Jim Tarchis
Goddammit…SFC Lilyea, I will raise a glass in your honor tonight- it has been a while since I knew it would be a somber drink. Wish I could have met ya, thankful for the bit I knew ya!
FWIW, I have a small copy of Invictus on my monitor. I pray I live up to it as you did.
John, you’ve been mentoring me since I was young E-5 2008 when I found this site. Your “tidbits” of daily information kept me in stitches and your dedication to ratting out fakers motivates me beyond.
I personally felt as if I knew you through your writing and observations.
Thank you for your service. Thank you for your friendship. And thank you for your daily commitment to us, the readers, as I know you’ve kept one or two of us on track. -Ben Seelye
See you in Fiddler’s Green.
When I was still wet behind the ears as an Editor here, I would e-mail Jonn links to articles I thought were of interest to offer him first refusal.
Nearly invariably his reply would be,”Knock yourself out.” followed by his signature, “Welcome Home.”
Going to miss that…
Welcome home, Jonn.
Rest in Peace Jon. See you on the flip side.
Jonn
(Of all the times…)
Rest easy in Valhalla, Jonn.
Those of us that remain have assumed the watch.
Semper Fidelis.
Well, damn it all.
Jonn, I never knew you, brother, not personally. I’ve lurked around this blog for years, and posted occasionally, but never had a conversation with you. I just kept coming back to see which nutjob you’d exposed today, and facepalm at their stupidity.
I’ve long admired the strength of your convictions, and the grace you displayed as so many of the posers challenged you in court, or threatened you personally. The diligence in which you pursued them, and the witty commentary of their various sins, gave me a good many chuckles over the last few years.
Rest easy, Jonn. You’ve done more for more people than I think you’ve ever realized. It’s a damned shame you had to go so soon, but God has called you home.
We have the watch, brother. Until Valhalla.
I am saddened to get this news. I used to live in his hometown, and was hoping to see if we may have hoisted a few beers together at the old Woodland Inn. My girlfriend was the beertender there, and would not have carded him. Rest In Peace now Soldier.
RIP, SFC Lilyea.
When I saw cryptic notes about checking your voicemail from Dave Hardin and other blog insiders, I was worried this had happened.
This has been my go-to military blog for years, since Blackfive turned into a book review site. While as a civilian I did not understand some of this, I appreciated it greatly. I checked the place regularly, almost every day, for years.
My hat’s off to you, Jonn. May you walk amongst your fellow heroes forever, and live in memory for all time.
Omega –
Yep. BlackFive brought me here, too…which is where I stayed. That was in AT LEAST 2008 when I was at Fort Hood or Fort Knox, somewhere in that time frame. It’s always a kick to miss several days (vacation, field time and such) and come back and get to binge on days and days worth.
John was a real Senior Scout, 2-Actual. Always on point with the sarcasm. I’ve already posted above, but dang, it’s a little bit of a downer today know this.
All I can say, again, is that this site and the community here is special to me. It’s a special place to be a part of. Thanks to John’s remarkably astute quick-wittiness, I was kept years in stitches. I always thought about keeping a small journal of shit he’d say, especially at the end of a story or link that was so precise, sarcastic, and personally coined by himself. Perfect in delivery and timing.
Thank you for that, John.
-Ben Seelye
God Speed and Fare Well to our Brother. You will know how many you touched and inspired as we each cross over to your new AO and rest ‘neath the Shade of The Tree; toasting the Warriors before us and the ones to come. For who you were and what you meant to all of us, we give Thanks to Him. Give us the courage to accept the things we cannot change! Deo Vindice
Well, shit. This news is worst that a thrown track to the inside (both) and a blown pack at the same time.
I remember the words of Patton: “Do not morn those who have died. rather thank GOD that such men lived.”
One more light has gone out.
I’ve spent more time lurking than commenting here, but I enjoyed seeing the regulars have fun together. The Stolen Valor articles were a bonus.
Enjoy your time at Fiddler’s Green, Jonn.
From the Havamal, “the words of the high one” Norse words of wisdom
Cattle die, kinsmen die,
You yourself, too soon, must die,
But one thing never will die,
The reputation of one who has earned it.
RIP, Jonn; your reputation will live on…
RIP
Very sad.
Well that just plain sucks, RIP Jonn, the world will be a little bit more shitty without you in it. Your was the first blog/website I would read every morning, I hope they give you one hell of a send off.
What a punch to the gut. I’ll miss you Jonn. Your humor and wit made me smile literally every day. Gone way too soon. Save a seat for me in Valhalla, brother.
Deeply saddened. But Jonn did many things to make this world a better place.
May God grant you peace, SFC.
Words and thoughts are hard to form after this terrible news. It’s a sad day for those of us left behind, his family and friends. We will all mourn him in our own way, even those of us who didn’t know him that well. But it’s a great day also. it’s a great day for Jonn. he’s free of his physical restraints. Free from his pain and suffering. Free to walk peacefully the fields of red poppies with our brothers and sisters who have gone before and have a drink or two with them at that good old-fashion canteen. Through our sadness, we should also rejoice in who Jonn was and where he is now. We will miss him.
Til Valhall, min bror!
God speed, Jonn.
15 years I knew ya, from RightNation, to here, to more places I can remember.
You were, are, and always will be the enviable example, the man of integrity to which I will always aspire.
The wife and I will miss you always. Prayers up to you and the family, Jonn.