Army Sgt. Joshua J. Rimer

Died July 22, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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24, of Rochester, Pa.; assigned to the 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.; died July 22 in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

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Received Purple Heart in Iraq tour

The Associated Press

Joshua J. Rimer read to his new wife every night and took care of her when she was sick. When it snowed, he always drove his mother-in-law to and from work.

“He is amazing. I mean he was amazing,” said his widow, Annalisa. “People just love Joshua.”

Rimer, 24, of Rochester, Pa., was killed July 22 by an improvised explosive in Zabul province, Afghanistan. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.

Rimer, who played the trumpet and was in band and chorus, joined the military right after graduation and spent three years in Iraq on his first tour. He received a Purple Heart after receiving shrapnel wounds to the neck.

“Everyone was saying, ‘You got the Purple Heart, you can come home now,’ ” said Amy Nichols, his cousin. “But he said, ‘This is what I do. This is me.’ ”

His family said Rimer was a good leader who constantly drilled his men and was respected for his knowledge and loved for his outgoing personality.

“I remember my brother as being a fun-loving person who had the best personality you’d ever meet,” Shannon Rimer said. “He was always the center of attention. That’s who Joshua was.”