Army Staff Sgt. Joshua M. Mills

Died September 16, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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24, of El Paso, Texas; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Sept. 16 in Ghur Ghuri, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle Sept. 15 with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Army Sgt. 1st Class Bradley S. Bohle, 29, of Glen Burnie, Md., and Army Sgt. 1st Class Shawn P. McCloskey, 33, of Peachtree, Ga.

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Had wide base of interests

The Associated Press

When Joshua M. Mills was young, he aspired to two careers.

“He wanted to be a paleontologist,” said his older brother, Quent. “He loved dinosaurs.”

But he also loved being a Green Beret. Mills graduated from the Silva Magnet High School in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where he was a member of the Junior ROTC and was on the rifle team. He joined the Army in 2005 and was assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C.

Family was important to Mills, and despite training and deployment, he almost always made it home for Christmas, his brother said.

“He would always try to surprise you,” Quent Mills said. “He’d come into town, but he wouldn’t tell you. He would just show up on your doorstep.”

The 24-year-old died of wounds from a roadside bomb in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Sept. 16, about two months after deploying to Afghanistan.

Quent Mills said his brother followed in the footsteps of their father, Tommy, who was an air defense soldier at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Joshua Mills is also survived by his wife, Magen; a son, Malaki; his mother, Celeste; and his brothers.