jeffrey chaney remembered

Jeffrey Chaney remembered

Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Chaney was such a good recruiter, he

brought his own brother into the Navy.

"He would say, 'If you walk through my door, I'm recruiting you,' and

Randy walked through his door," said April Chaney, his sister. Randy

Chaney of Omaha is still in the Navy.

Jeffrey Chaney's success -- in the four years he spent as a recruiter

and throughout a 14-year Navy career -- was a direct result of his

passion for serving his country, April Chaney said.

"(He) loved the Navy; he just loved everything about his job. He was

always talking about it," she said.

Jeffrey Chaney, 35, of Omaha was killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday in

Iraq.

Chaney and Chief Petty Officer Patrick L. Wade, 38, of Key West, Fla.,

were killed while conducting combat operations in Salahuddin province,

said Kim Martin, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island,

Wash., where Chaney was stationed.

Both sailors were assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit

11 and worked to disarm and dispose of explosives.

"This is a great loss to their family, friends and the entire

(ordnance disposal) community," said Capt. Barry Coceano, commander of

Chaney's unit, in a statement Thursday. "They are heroes and role

models."

Chaney had been in Iraq about two months, his sister said.

He graduated in 1990 from Bellevue West High School and joined the

Navy in 1993.

He dreamed of becoming a Navy SEAL, but problems with his eyesight

prevented that, April Chaney said. However, she said, his current job

was the next best thing.

Jeffrey Chaney has a daughter, Brianna Chaney, 14, also of Omaha. Her

birth was his proudest moment, April Chaney said.

Next on the list was when he met Mikhail Gorbachev and former

President George H.W. Bush while working with the Secret Service at

Bush's 80th birthday celebration. He never thought he'd ever get to do

anything like that in his life, his sister said.

Jeffrey Chaney also worked with the Secret Service, checking areas for

explosives in the most recent presidential election, during which he

met both President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry.

Other survivors include his mother, Connie Chaney of Omaha; his

father, Larry Chaney of Bloomington, Minn.; and brother Jim Eckert of

Oakland, Iowa.

From the Bellevue Leader