Remembering Josh

As a civilian, the closest I’ve come to war is what I’ve read in magazines and newspapers, or what I’ve seen on TV.

On October 3, 2009, I experienced war in a way that forever changed how I think about holidays like Memorial Day.

On Oct. 3, 2009, my younger brother, Sgt Joshua John Kirk, and seven other brave heroes were killed during the battle at COP Keating.

Josh was assigned to the 3-61st Cav, out of Fort Carson, Colo., and was team leader for 1st Platoon, B Troop. He was serving his second tour at Combat Outpost Keating, which is located in the mountainous Kamdesh district in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan, near the border of Pakistan.

When we were kids, my brothers, Joshua and Josiah, and cousin Ben loved to play army and war. Every stick was a gun to them; when they got older the sticks gave way to pellet and paintball guns, which eventually gave way to real guns.

The boys, and on occasion, girls, would dress up in camouflage and head out into the woods for an elaborate game of war. We girls outgrew this game when we got older, but the boys never did.

Looking back on those memories now, it’s not surprising to me that Josh enlisted in the military; only that he waited so long to do it.

Josh always did well at everything he did, but it was in the Army where he truly excelled and grew into his full potential.

Josh was a born leader and proved himself fearless in combat. His fellow soldiers nicknamed him “Combat Kirk” because he was always battle ready, and they shared with us many stories of not only his courage, but also of his sense of humor.

One of our favorite stories came from Captain Stoney Portis, who told us that the first time he met Josh was in the latrines, where Josh was getting ready to take a shower.

Captain Portis said that he introduced himself as the COP’s new commander, and completely unfazed, Josh came right in close to shake his hand and proceeded to have a very animated conversation.

Portis said it was a pretty uncomfortable five minutes for him, because in addition to being completely naked, Josh was 6 ft. 3" and Portis, only about 5 ft. 5".

In one of Josh’s last emails to the family he said in part, “I always think the friends we lose will forever be the heroes to us. They will forever be the best of any of us.”

 I couldn’t agree more, and on this Memorial Day and every day, I remember my brother Josh, a true American hero.