Army Spc. Joshua L. Plocica

Died June 25, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Clarksville, Tenn.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

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Tenn. soldier followed family’s military service

The Associated Press

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A Clarksville soldier was following in the footsteps of his family members when he enlisted in the Army, his family said.

Spc. Joshua Lee Plocica died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The 20-year-old graduated from Rossview High School just a few months before he enlisted in August 2006.

Lisa Thompson, his mother, said he wanted to follow his grandfather, Army retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael T. True, and his uncle, Master Sgt. William C. Clark II, in serving his country.

Plocica was assigned to 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He had only been deployed three months when he died.

Thompson said he would want his friends and family to celebrate, not mourn, his death.

Plocica is also survived by his father, David Corbin of Elizabethtown, Ky., and sister, Brenna Corbin.