Master Sgt. Joseph John Andres Jr.
Born April 5, 1971 in Ohio
Died Dec. 24, 2005 in Balad, Iraq
Master Sgt. John J. Andres, of Seven Hills, Ohio, was one of six children born to Joseph and Sandra Andres, and their only son. Growing up Joe was adventurous, but cautious. An honor student, he played the drums for the school’s orchestra and was on the track and wrestling teams. His soft side contained a love for cartoons, hot sauce and fluffy towels. After graduating from Padua Franciscan High School in Parma, Ohio in 1989, he studied materials engineering at the University of Cincinnati. While enrolled he joined the Army Reserves in February 1992 as a combat medic. Deciding that a life of work behind a desk just wasn’t his thing, on April 21, 1993 he enlisted in the regular Army, and was assigned as a combat medic to the 42nd Medical Company based at Wiesbaden, Germany. He later served as a medical noncommissioned officer in A Company, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, and as a Special Forces communications noncommissioned officer in A Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Washington. In 2003 he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Joe thought of himself as a guardian of our country, his country. He cared very deeply about freedom and responsibilities we each hold to keep it. As a bachelor, Joseph also enjoyed having someone else take care of him. He would go home to Ohio on leaves, bringing his laundry with him, which was fine; they liked having him home and taking care of him for a change. Joe had recently purchased a home of his own near Fort Bragg, just before he was set to deploy to Iraq on a tour of duty. He wanted to go, to keep the fight over there instead of on American soil. Before he left, he insisted a fellow soldier’s family occupy his new house while they waited for their own home to be ready. Joseph was casual about his military service, the dangers he never mentioned, and if people asked him what he did for a living, he’d tell them he worked as a greeter at Wal-Mart. On Christmas Eve 2005, Joseph died in Balad, Iraq from injuries he received earlier in the day in Baquoba, Iraq when a bomb was detonated near his vehicle. Joseph was awarded many awards and decorations during his twelve years of service to his country and was posthumously promoted to the rank of master sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor and the Purple Heart. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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