Army Cpl. Joshua M. Moore

Died May 30, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Russellville, Ky.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died May 30 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Sgt. Bacilio E. Cuellar and Cpl. James E. Lundin.

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Kentuckian says his son was killed in Iraq

By Bruce Schreiner

The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cpl. Joshua Moore had seen lots of death in Iraq — from suicide bombings aimed at civilians to roadside explosions that killed Army buddies.

Having witnessed the precariousness of life, the 20-year-old Moore — known as a happy-go-lucky kid in his southern Kentucky hometown — planned his own funeral just in case.

On Friday, his family was preparing to carry out those last wishes.

Moore was killed this week in the Baghdad area when an explosive device hit the Humvee he rode in with several other soldiers, according to his father, Jeff Moore. His death came in one of the deadliest months of the war for U.S. troops, with at least 122 casualties.

The Pentagon had not yet confirmed his death.

In his native Logan County, Moore was remembered for his outgoing, fun-loving nature, his faith and his easy way with schoolchildren who had corresponded with him.

“He could light up your world. He was just special,” said Jane Wells, Moore’s seventh and eighth grade science teacher, who kept in contact with him through the years.

Moore returned home on leave a few weeks ago, taking time to visit Lewisburg School to meet students who were his pen pals.

“They felt sort of like he was their hero,” said Barrett Nelson, the school’s principal.

Moore’s stint in Iraq added a serious side to his personality, Wells said. “He said, ‘I’ve seen more death than I ever thought I would see in my life,”’ Wells recalled him saying.

Moore told his former teacher he had taken out extra life insurance to help care for his sister’s children. He also prepared a DVD with funeral instructions if the worst happened.

He picked out the music and asked that another Logan County soldier who enlisted when he did be among the soldiers firing the gun salute at his graveside, Jeff Moore said.

The young soldier talked openly about the dangers in Iraq — the roadside bombs and snipers. “He talked that it could happen,” his father said.

A week before returning home on leave, Moore was in another military vehicle that struck an explosive device, his father said. He had suffered ear problems from that blast.

During his visit home, he was asked by friends about American involvement in Iraq and whether he wished he’d chosen another profession, his father said. Joshua Moore always replied he had no regrets about joining the Army and believed in the U.S. mission.

“He honestly felt like they were doing good,” his father said.

Moore grew up in rural Logan County, a few miles from Russellville and Lewisburg.

During his short time at home, Joshua Moore also bought a 2005 GMC pickup truck and spent lots of time customizing it.

“That was his pride and joy,” said his father, who was building a garage for the truck.

His son enlisted in the Army shortly after graduating from Logan County High School in 2005. He worked briefly at a Bowling Green factory before joining the military. His long-term goal was to become a Kentucky State Police trooper, his father said.

Joshua Moore was stationed in Germany until deploying to Iraq about a year ago.

Wells said Moore’s tour of duty in Iraq was originally supposed to be over when he returned home on leave recently. But his stint was extended a few more months, resulting in his return to Iraq, she said.

Wells remembered the boy who had given her a necklace when he graduated from the eighth grade and who rode a stick horse around the school gym at a mock Kentucky Derby race.

“He was quick. He had so much energy he didn’t know what to do with it,” she said.

His family is planning to hold his funeral in the same school gym.

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Kentucky soldier killed in Iraq laid to rest

The Associated Press

LEWISBURG, Ky. — Friends and family took a southern Kentucky soldier killed in Iraq for one last ride through the neighborhood before laying him to rest June 11.

Cpl. Joshua Moore, 20, was driven through the town square in nearby Russellville in his new black pickup truck following funeral services. Moore was killed along with two other soldiers on May 30 when an explosive device hit the Humvee they were riding in.

Music chosen by Moore was played during the visitation at Lewisburg Elementary School and the funeral at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The selections, many of them country songs, were picked by Moore and given to his parents to play at his funeral in case he was killed in action.

The traditional military funeral included a 21-gun salute and a flyover by military aircraft. His parents, Jess and Carolyn Moore, were presented with three medals their son had earned during his tour of duty: the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Good Conduct Medal.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral in the tight-knit community about 40 minutes west of Bowling Green. The visitation was at the same school Moore visited when he returned home on leave recently, taking time to meet students who were his pen pals.

“They felt sort of like he was their hero,” said Barrett Nelson, the school’s principal.

Moore was the first casualty of war in Logan County since Vietnam according to Bryson Price, the funeral director at Price Funeral Home.

Including Moore, 57 service members with hometowns of record in Kentucky have died in the Iraq war. Nearly 200 troops based at Fort Campbell on the Tennessee border also have been killed in the conflict, most of them from the 101st Airborne Division.

Moore was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, based in Germany.