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Father had feeling soldier son would not return

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Friday, Aug 04, 2006 - 12:13:09 am CDT

PENDER — Lonnie Ford had a feeling that his soldier son wouldn’t be coming home.

He and his son, Spc. Joshua Ford, had talked on the phone from Iraq after Joshua had been home on leave.

“I went in to my wife (Joshua’s stepmother) and said, ’He’s not ever going to come home,“’ Ford said. “I honestly had a feeling.”

Story Photo
Nebraska Army National Guard soldier, Spc. Joshua Ford Joshua Ford (Courtesy photo)

At a news conference Thursday morning at Pender Elementary School, Ford spoke about the death of his son.

Twenty-year-old Joshua Ford was killed Monday by a roadside bomb in south-central Iraq near An Numaniyah. The blast wounded another member of his Nebraska Army National Guard unit, Detachment 1 of the 189th Transportation Company.

That soldier, Spc. Benjamin Marksmeier of Beemer, suffered a serious leg injury and was sent to Germany for treatment.

About 20 members of the Ford family joined the soldier’s father on Thursday, clasping hands amid photos of Joshua. Also on display were art projects Joshua had completed during his school years.

Lonnie Ford said he was proud that Joshua had served his country, although surprised that his son wanted to join the military. Joshua was so enthusiastic about the National Guard that he enlisted while still in Pender High School and persuaded three friends to join with him.

His son was interested in art, computers and movies, Lonnie Ford said.

Nebraska funeral plans have not yet been made, but the 189th is planning to hold a memorial in Iraq on Friday.

The unit was activated in August and landed in Kuwait on Oct. 31.

Besides his father, Ford was survived by his fiancee, Michelle Frohlich of Pender; three sisters, Erin, Jessica and Shawn; grandmother, Ella Petersen of North Bend; and a nephew, William Dyer.

Knowing that one of Joshua’s best friends was at his side when he died gave his father some comfort.

“I know that at his death, they tried to do everything humanely possible for him,” Lonnie Ford said.

Information from: Norfolk Daily News, http://www.norfolkdailynews.com


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You're a Hero wrote on August 4, 2006 7:45 am:
" Rest in God's Peace, Josh. You will be missed. "

 Tracy wrote on August 4, 2006 10:30 am:
" THANK YOU! "

 Earnest wrote on August 4, 2006 11:36 am:
" Another wasted life in cause of Bush's folly. Would that any of the nearly 2600 who have died for a legitimate cause. Alas, they have died in vain. "

 American Citizen wrote on August 4, 2006 11:51 am:
" Thank-you for defending my freedoms. You will forever be a hero. God Bless. "

 George wrote on August 4, 2006 12:17 pm:
" If only Josh and the many more who have died in Iraq were really defending our freedom. Sadly, the war in Iraq has nothing to do with our freedom. It has everything to do with administrative hubris and the George Bush's misguided cowboy "diplomacy". Hagel says bring them home in 6 months. I say 6 weeks. No more bloodshed in this quagmire. "

 Gulf War Vet wrote on August 4, 2006 12:29 pm:
" Thanks Josh, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. "

 Thankful wrote on August 4, 2006 4:16 pm:
" My husband leaves for the war in Iraq very soon. Not a day goes through my mind that something this terrible will happen to him. Not enough thanks goes out to our soldiers who defend our country so that we can have the freedom that we have. So to the family of Josh, thank you for letting your son defend our freedom. God Bless! "

 Dwight Whayle wrote on July 31, 2007 12:09 am:
" Pvt. Joshua Ford has not died in vain--it is we, his fellow citizens, who live in vain for not putting an end to this misbegotten adventure in Iraq. It has not been enough to eviscerate this Administration's nominal "political party," impeachment has become the imperative. Not since Aaron Burr and James Wilkinson has this Republic been faced with treasonous pirates willing to wreck our institutions to advance their selfish interests. Josh Ford and the 3,600 K.I.A. in Iraq believed they were fighting for us, for our nation, they believed the voice calling them to arms to be their neighbors' voice, the voice of their communities, their country. It's we who have allowed our voice to be usurped. Josh and his comrades showed us the full measure of responsibilty each of us needs to bring to this democracy--this rare republic--if we mean to preserve it. We must rally to the Constitution and begin impeachment of these pirates--offering commutation based only on the swiftness of their resignations. d'Whayleyeaux NOW ! "

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