Jan 5, 2008 2:02 pm US/Central
Father Mourns Son Killed In Iraq
(WCCO)
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Pfc. Joshua R. Anderson died Wednesday in Kamasia when an explosive detonated near his vehicle in Iraq.
CBS
Another Minnesota family is mourning the loss of a son on the battlefield. An explosion in Iraq killed Pvt. 1st Class Joshua Anderson Wednesday.
"He died doing what he wanted to do, and it's freedom," said the victim's father, Keven Anderson.
He remembers his son putting his family first. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and went to war, all for a better life in the end. Little did his family know, the day he left for Iraq in mid-October, was the last time they would see him alive.
"When he decided to join the Army, he just excelled at everything that he did and went to the top of his platoon," Keven Anderson said.
His son was a combat medic, and the soldiers in his platoon called him "Doc." A bomb exploded near his Humvee and killed him. His father remembers when he got the news.
"I saw the Army guys walking up the driveway and I knew," he recalled. "They walked up, and I said, 'Is it bad?,' and they said, 'Yes, it's bad.'"
The immediate memories are painful, but the good one's can be seen in a video tribute. The mother of Joshua's close friend made it.
He loved G.I. Joe's growing up, and that's where his mom thinks his interest in the Army came from. He played football at Jordan High School, and he married.
Joshua's father remembers him as the go-getter, the guy who gave 110 percent.
"He was a very loving father. He loved his family. He loved his country. And he served his country to the end, just what he wanted to do," said Keven Anderson.
Now Joshua Anderson's daughter Savannah, just 3 years old, will grow up without her father. The better life he dreamed of, with better medical benefits for his family through the Army, and a chance to be somebody, ended too soon.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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