Army Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason, 42, of Bloomington [Hayfield], Minn., died Nov. 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered from an incident that is currently under investigation. He was assigned to the 847th Adjutant General Battalion, 89th Regional Readiness Command, Wichita, Kan.
"Hayfield Soldier Was Deeply Private, Affectionate, Loyal"
HAYFIELD -- The public might have grown weary of the war in Iraq, but Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason never tired, never wavered in his belief that what he and his country were doing was the right thing.
That sense of certitude shines through in letters he wrote to his American Legion friends back in Hayfield. In one, he contemplated the possibility of his own death.
"I love my country, and I know that if I was to die for it, it would've been an honor dying for something so precious as freedom is for all of us," Tobiason wrote in a letter that appeared in the Hayfield paper five months before his death in Baghdad.
Details about how he died remained sketchy Friday. His sister, Nancy Mitchell of Mantorville, said that Tobiason was in a "safe zone" when the incident happened. He reportedly stepped outside of a tent when shots were fired.
Tobiason, 42, was a private man who enjoyed solitary pursuits. He loved fishing and had a room set aside in his two-story house for playing his drums on his own.
Like a lot of private people, Tobiason, 42, was not necessarily an easy guy to get know. But once you did, that same sense of loyalty he had for country and freedom extended to you. You entered his zone, became part of his family, and often found yourself wrapped in one of his affectionate hugs, friends say.
"He always had a smile on his face, and he knew what freedom cost. And the sad thing about it, he gave it all," said Bruce Tiegen, a retired real-estate agent and Vietnam veteran.
What defined him was his attitude toward service and country. He had served in Desert Storm in the early 1990s. When he moved to Hayfield, he made the local American Legion Post his second home, working in the kitchen, bartending and helping in whatever capacity he could to fix up the place.
His death comes less than a month after the unveiling of a new veterans memorial in downtown Hayfield. Tobiason was among the more than 320 veterans whose names were etched into the memorial. And Friday, his paver stood out, bracketed by two bouquets of flowers laid by the family.
The news of his death cast a pall over this community of 1,400. Many heard the news for the first time during a gathering of bingo at the legion hall, all but destroying the sense of festivity.
At Uncle Mony's Restaurant, waitress Kathy DeMaria remembered Tobiason as the "one of the nicest, friendliest kids I've ever known." The last time she saw him, Tobiason was about to return to Iraq after a 30-day leave.
"When he came in and gave me a hug and (said) goodbye, I said, 'Now, you come back.' And he said, 'I hope so.'" DeMaria said.
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