Army Sgt. Joshua S. Ladd

Died May 1, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Port Gibson, Miss.; assigned to the 367th Maintenance Company, Army National Guard, DeKalb, Miss.; killed May 1 when his convoy vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Mosul, Iraq.

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Family members say Sgt. Joshua S. Ladd wanted to be a soldier since he was a boy. "He always wanted to be in the military and shoot big guns," said his cousin, Debbie Chisolm. Ladd, 20, of Fort Gibson, Miss., was killed May 1 outside Mosul, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle. He was a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard. Ladd volunteered for service soon after his unit was mobilized last year.

— Associated Press