ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — Gov. Jerry Brown ordered flags lowered to half-staff over the state capitol Monday in honor of Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan, a Coronado-based explosives ordnance disposal technician from Anaheim who was killed last week in Iraq.
The governor and first lady Anne Gust Brown issued a statement extending condolences to the family of the 34-year-old Navy sailor who enlisted in August 2004. He is survived by a wife and 7-year-old son.
The Navy said Finan died Thursday from wounds caused by a blast of an improvised explosive device while supporting operations to clear Islamic State forces from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. About 100 U.S. personnel are backing the Iraqi army’s offensive.
Finan had spotted the roadside bomb and was directing a group of Navy SEALS around it when his own vehicle hit another IED and exploded, according to publication Stars & Stripes. Finan and the SEL team were moving toward a more secure position when Islamic State fighters advanced.
A GoFundMe page was set up to support Finan’s family and has since raised more than $25,000.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
