Soldier's name could be removed from EOD memorial wall

EGLIN AFB — The Board of Directors of the EOD Memorial Foundation is considering removing the name of one of the men whose death is chronicled on its memorial wall.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Miles Lankford was in Iraq in September 2007 when he died of a heart attack following a workout.

The board has decided that his death was not related to a combat injury or illness.

The same board approved Lankford’s name to be added to the wall in 2008.

Cheryl Lankford, Jonathan’s widow, said she learned of the board’s decision Tuesday afternoon when Jim O’Neil, the foundation’s executive director, showed up at her home in Texas.

“It felt like the chaplain and sergeant were knocking on my door to tell me my husband had died,” she said. “It was like ripping open an old wound.

“It’s hard. It’s been three years.”

Lankford’s story has received media coverage in the San Antonio area where she lives.

O’Neil said in an e-mail Friday that the foundation’s board could reconsider its decision.

“There may very well be a review of the decision at the next board meeting,” he said.

O’Neil said early Friday that the board would release a statement on the issue. No statement had arrived at the Daily News by 5:30 p.m.

Lankford, a member of the Army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, was on his third deployment to Iraq when he died Sept. 22, 2007.

At the age of 42, he had attained the highest rank an enlisted man can reach in the Army. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

In May 2008 he was honored with other EOD service members when his name was placed on the memorial wall at Eglin Air Force Base.

Cheryl Lankford said she was told that complaints from several EOD service members led to the review of her husband’s credentials for placement on the wall.

She said most people who have worked in bomb disposal believe her husband’s name should remain on the wall.

“I’ve had so many calls from the EOD guys my phone is blowing up,” Lankford said. “Everyone is so upset about this.”