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Legionaries Honor a Warrior

Mar- 8-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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by Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, 138th MPAD

MOSUL, Iraq (Mar. 3, 2006) -- Soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team honored Spc. Joshua Pearce at a memorial ceremony at Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq on Mar 3.

Pearce perished during combat operations when the Stryker Brigade Combat vehicle he was in was hit by an improvised explosive device on Feb. 26.

“I don’t know if I will ever get used to you being gone,” said Spc. Richard Napier, Co. B, 2nd Bn, 1st Inf. Rgt. “I’m going to miss you, I’ll never forget you.”

Pearce was born Nov. 23, 1984 and grew up in Guymon, Okla., where he graduated high school in 2003. He enlisted in the Army in Nov., 2003 and attended training at One Station Unit Training at Fort Sill, Okla.

Pearce was assigned to Co. B, 2nd Bn, 1st Inf. Rgt., 172nd SBCT at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and was deployed to Iraq in August 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to Lt. Col. Charles Webster, Task Force 2-1 commander, Pearce did not go to college, get a job and just talk about the greatness of America. He decided to come forward and be counted as one of the few, to make a stand, who would fight, and die if necessary, to ensure others would have opportunities that he and his other countrymen share.

“Spc. Pearce was a patriot and a true American that in his heart, knew what this county stood for,” said Webster. “What his country gave to the world was worth fighting for.”

Spc. Daniel Castillo, Co. B, 2nd Bn., 1st Inf. Rgt., said that I never had a really true friend, I never experienced love so strong that I would cry everyday, and be grateful everyday, I was happy in Iraq because of Pearce, and he made it feel like home.

“It was a privilege to share over two and a half years of memory with you Josh, I just wish we could share more,” said Sgt. William Pearson, 2nd Bn, 1st Inf. Rgt., 172nd SBCT. “The memories I have will carry with me forever, and I will cherish each one.”

In a letter Pearce wrote that was printed in his hometown newspaper ended in a quote from President Kennedy and it was his favorite he said in this letter, “There are three things which are real: God, Human Folly and Laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension so we must do what we can with the third.”


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