Huffington Magazine Issue 67 | Page 46

HUFFINGTON 09.22.13 INVISIBLE CASUALTIES scoured away most of his boyish clowning, but not his enthusiasm for life. He loved his two combat tours in Iraq with a Navy river patrol unit, Riverine Squadron 1, hunting insurgents and weapons caches along the Euphrates River in bloody Anbar Province. He made friends easily and was a good friend. His buddies used words like “energetic” and “optimistic” to describe him. “An infectious smile, the men all adored him, a great brother in arms. Josh is a hero,” said Navy Cmdr. Gary Leigh, Joshua’s squadron commander in Iraq, who was “crushed” by Joshua’s death. Joshua won promotions. He planned to re-enlist. A distinguished naval career beckoned. Then, a setback. On his return from Iraq in 2009, a routine physical turned up hearing loss, evidence of a brain tumor. Surgery, in December of that year, was successful; the tumor was benign. But his hearing loss and the surgery abruptly ended his Don Lipstein leans on the mini casket that houses Joshua’s ashes.