In a letter he wrote to the public on Sept. 11, 2005, Josh said, "I do not want to die, but if that's what I was put on this earth to do, then everyone should know that I went for a cause that in my heart was worth (dying) for."
He enlisted in the US Army at Fort Sill and deployed to Iraq Aug. 26, 2005, with B Co. 172STB 211D, from Ft. Wainright, Alaska. He was a vehicle commander and forward observer and was killed when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in Iraq. His brother, Jeremy is also serving in Iraq as a Sergeant in a tank unit.
His mother, Becky Hilliard, stated, "He always wanted to be a soldier... This is what he wanted to do."
GUYMON, OKLA. - Spc. Joshua Michael Pearce, 21, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, in Iraq while serving his country.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Derek Cox, pastor, officiating. Full military rites will follow in Elmhurst Cemetery. Arrangements are by Henson-Novak Funeral Directors.
Mr. Pearce was born Nov. 23, 1984, in Johnson, Kan., the son of Rebecca Widows and Michael D. Pearce. He graduated with the Guymon High School Class of 2003, where he played on the Guymon Tiger baseball team and was voted Senior Favorite "Life of the Party."
Survivors include his parents, Becky and Rick Hilliard of Guymon and Michael and Mary Pearce of Salina, Kan.; two sisters, Heidi Barncastle of Chillicothe, Mo., and Shanese Hilliard of Guymon; two brothers, Sgt. Jeremy Pearce of Guymon and Brandon Widows of Bentonville, Ark.; a stepsister, Michelle Torres of Topeka, Kan.; and his grandparents, Delomia and Roger Hurst of Johnson, Kan., Darby and Richard Widows of Pueblo, Colo., Theda and Dennis Pearce of Blackwell, Okla., and Leola Hartley of Guymon.
The family suggests memorials be to the Spc. Joshua Pearce Memorial Scholarship, in care of Henson-Novak Funeral Directors, P.O. Box 1306, Guymon, OK 73942.
Amarillo Globe-News, March 4, 2006
He enlisted in the US Army at Fort Sill and deployed to Iraq Aug. 26, 2005, with B Co. 172STB 211D, from Ft. Wainright, Alaska. He was a vehicle commander and forward observer and was killed when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in Iraq. His brother, Jeremy is also serving in Iraq as a Sergeant in a tank unit.
His mother, Becky Hilliard, stated, "He always wanted to be a soldier... This is what he wanted to do."
GUYMON, OKLA. - Spc. Joshua Michael Pearce, 21, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, in Iraq while serving his country.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Derek Cox, pastor, officiating. Full military rites will follow in Elmhurst Cemetery. Arrangements are by Henson-Novak Funeral Directors.
Mr. Pearce was born Nov. 23, 1984, in Johnson, Kan., the son of Rebecca Widows and Michael D. Pearce. He graduated with the Guymon High School Class of 2003, where he played on the Guymon Tiger baseball team and was voted Senior Favorite "Life of the Party."
Survivors include his parents, Becky and Rick Hilliard of Guymon and Michael and Mary Pearce of Salina, Kan.; two sisters, Heidi Barncastle of Chillicothe, Mo., and Shanese Hilliard of Guymon; two brothers, Sgt. Jeremy Pearce of Guymon and Brandon Widows of Bentonville, Ark.; a stepsister, Michelle Torres of Topeka, Kan.; and his grandparents, Delomia and Roger Hurst of Johnson, Kan., Darby and Richard Widows of Pueblo, Colo., Theda and Dennis Pearce of Blackwell, Okla., and Leola Hartley of Guymon.
The family suggests memorials be to the Spc. Joshua Pearce Memorial Scholarship, in care of Henson-Novak Funeral Directors, P.O. Box 1306, Guymon, OK 73942.
Amarillo Globe-News, March 4, 2006
In a letter he wrote to the public on Sept. 11, 2005, Josh said, "I do not want to die, but if that's what I was put on this earth to do, then everyone should know that I went for a cause that in my heart was worth (dying) for."
He enlisted in the US Army at Fort Sill and deployed to Iraq Aug. 26, 2005, with B Co. 172STB 211D, from Ft. Wainright, Alaska. He was a vehicle commander and forward observer and was killed when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in Iraq. His brother, Jeremy is also serving in Iraq as a Sergeant in a tank unit.
His mother, Becky Hilliard, stated, "He always wanted to be a soldier... This is what he wanted to do."
GUYMON, OKLA. - Spc. Joshua Michael Pearce, 21, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, in Iraq while serving his country.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Derek Cox, pastor, officiating. Full military rites will follow in Elmhurst Cemetery. Arrangements are by Henson-Novak Funeral Directors.
Mr. Pearce was born Nov. 23, 1984, in Johnson, Kan., the son of Rebecca Widows and Michael D. Pearce. He graduated with the Guymon High School Class of 2003, where he played on the Guymon Tiger baseball team and was voted Senior Favorite "Life of the Party."
Survivors include his parents, Becky and Rick Hilliard of Guymon and Michael and Mary Pearce of Salina, Kan.; two sisters, Heidi Barncastle of Chillicothe, Mo., and Shanese Hilliard of Guymon; two brothers, Sgt. Jeremy Pearce of Guymon and Brandon Widows of Bentonville, Ark.; a stepsister, Michelle Torres of Topeka, Kan.; and his grandparents, Delomia and Roger Hurst of Johnson, Kan., Darby and Richard Widows of Pueblo, Colo., Theda and Dennis Pearce of Blackwell, Okla., and Leola Hartley of Guymon.
The family suggests memorials be to the Spc. Joshua Pearce Memorial Scholarship, in care of Henson-Novak Funeral Directors, P.O. Box 1306, Guymon, OK 73942.
Amarillo Globe-News, March 4, 2006
He enlisted in the US Army at Fort Sill and deployed to Iraq Aug. 26, 2005, with B Co. 172STB 211D, from Ft. Wainright, Alaska. He was a vehicle commander and forward observer and was killed when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in Iraq. His brother, Jeremy is also serving in Iraq as a Sergeant in a tank unit.
His mother, Becky Hilliard, stated, "He always wanted to be a soldier... This is what he wanted to do."
GUYMON, OKLA. - Spc. Joshua Michael Pearce, 21, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, in Iraq while serving his country.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Derek Cox, pastor, officiating. Full military rites will follow in Elmhurst Cemetery. Arrangements are by Henson-Novak Funeral Directors.
Mr. Pearce was born Nov. 23, 1984, in Johnson, Kan., the son of Rebecca Widows and Michael D. Pearce. He graduated with the Guymon High School Class of 2003, where he played on the Guymon Tiger baseball team and was voted Senior Favorite "Life of the Party."
Survivors include his parents, Becky and Rick Hilliard of Guymon and Michael and Mary Pearce of Salina, Kan.; two sisters, Heidi Barncastle of Chillicothe, Mo., and Shanese Hilliard of Guymon; two brothers, Sgt. Jeremy Pearce of Guymon and Brandon Widows of Bentonville, Ark.; a stepsister, Michelle Torres of Topeka, Kan.; and his grandparents, Delomia and Roger Hurst of Johnson, Kan., Darby and Richard Widows of Pueblo, Colo., Theda and Dennis Pearce of Blackwell, Okla., and Leola Hartley of Guymon.
The family suggests memorials be to the Spc. Joshua Pearce Memorial Scholarship, in care of Henson-Novak Funeral Directors, P.O. Box 1306, Guymon, OK 73942.
Amarillo Globe-News, March 4, 2006
