MULDROW, Okla. (AP) — The first American soldier to die in combat against the Islamic State group in Iraq was remembered as a man who smiled and was passionate about his wife, children, church and making others happy.
The Tulsa World reports a memorial service was held Tuesday for U.S. Army Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler in Muldrow, where Wheeler graduated high school in 1994 before joining the Army in 1995.
The 39-year-old Wheeler was killed October 22nd when he and dozens of U.S. special operations troops and Iraqi forces raided a compound near the city of Kirkuk, freeing approximately 70 Iraqi prisoners from captivity.
A private burial was held November 18th at Arlington National Cemetery following a memorial service in North Carolina, where Wheeler lived with his family before he died.