Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield
Born May 24, 1985
Died Feb. 19, 2010 in Farah Province Afghanistan
Joshua was a 2004 graduate of Westville, Indiana, High School where he excelled at softball and baseball. He had a good job and was just a regular guy with a loving family when two years ago he made the choice to enlist in the military. Taking a look around his town Joshua saw grandparents taking care of their grandchildren who had parents serving in the War on Terror. At the age of 22 he asked himself what he was doing and made his choice. His friends knew he was selfless, and watched him enlist with a tear in his eye on April 14, 2008. Josh loved life so much, and the love and respect he had for everyone he knew was given right back to him by them. When he had conversations with others about the risk he was taking, he made sure they knew he was doing exactly what he wanted to do- for others. On his first deployment, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, from Twentynine Palms, California, Joshua died February 19 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. His military awards include the NATO medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal along with several others. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
Burial: Pinhook Cemetery in La Porte, Indiana.
The Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
