By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

In a tearful ceremony June 9, Lance Cpl. Jason Burnett, the U.S. Marine and St. Cloud resident who died in Iraq in 2006, was immortalized in the Veterans Tribute and Museum in the Osceola Square Mall after his parents donated a uniform their son had worn.

The uniform was presented in a glass case that was also dressed with three photos of Burnett while he served in the Marines and an engraved plaque mentioning his unit.

The uniform was paramount to the museum because it added a local flavor to the sacrifice the men and women in the military are making right now overseas, Museum Executive Director Scott Carmean said.

“He is someone who graduated from a local high school and who was a fine young man. I can’t think that this couldn’t be the most important exhibit in the museum,” Carmean said.

The 20-year-old Marine was taken abruptly from loved ones on May 11, 2006, after a military tank he and three other soldiers were in rolled off a bridge and into a canal in Al Anbar Province, near Karmah, Iraq. All four men drowned, according to the U.S Department of Defense. Burnett joined the service in September 2004 and had been stationed in Iraq for six months before the accident. He served in the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Burnett had been awarded an Iraq campaign medal and two other medals for global war on terrorism service and national defense service, U.S. Marine officials said.

During the induction of the uniform, Burnett’s mother, Shelly, was in tears, looking at her first-born son’s military uniform. His father, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ron Burnett, became emotional when speaking about his son.

He said there was no timing issue in donating the uniform, but it was something he wanted to do for a long time.

“It was a difficult process to do,” he said.

The uniform was “a reflection of Jason’s life and what he meant to us and how it’s important to keep his memory alive,” Ron Burnett added.

So when visitors tour the museum and see Burnett’s uniform, what does his father hope they will walk away with?

“I hope it’s recognized that he gave his life for his community and country,” he said.

While it’s been four years, the loss of his son is still “very difficult,” his father said.

“You never get over it. You just learn to cope with it,” he added.

According to a 2006 News-Gazette article, Burnett was a stellar athlete and student, his father said. He was on the St. Cloud High School soccer team in 2004 as a starting defenseman that won a district title that year.

During Burnett’s funeral, it was mentioned that he loved weightlifting and outdoor life. He also enjoyed riding dirt bikes, snorkeling, water skiing and snowboarding, according to the article.

“You can rest assured you will always have a place of honor and respect on our wall,” Museum Chairman Don Smith told the Burnett family after the ceremony.