Cpl. Joshua Ware

(reprinted from SequoyaCountyTimes.com, November 19, 2005)

Marine From Roland Dies In Battle In Iraq

By Monica Keen, Staff Writer
The life of a 2003 Roland High School graduate was cut short at the age of 20 when he was killed during combat operations in Iraq Wednesday.

The former Roland man, Cpl. Joshua J. Ware of Apache, was one of four Marines who died while conducting combat operations against enemy forces during Operation Steel Curtain in Ubaydi, Iraq, according to a release issued Thursday on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Web site.

Ware was one of two Oklahoma men who died. Cpl. Jeffry A. Rogers, 21, of Oklahoma City was also killed.

The men died as a result of enemy small arms fire. All four Marines were assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, their unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Ware is the second Roland graduate to be killed since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Spc. Lyle Rymer, 24, with the Arkansas Army National Guard was killed by an enemy sniper in Baghdad, Iraq, in February. Rymer was a 1999 Roland graduate.

Assistant School Superintendent Larry Henson remembers Ware was the kind of person who would always get things done. Henson was head high school football coach when Ware was in school at Roland. Ware played defensive secondary and receiver on the football team.

Henson said Ware mentioned that he was interested in the armed forces after he graduated, but he didn’t specify the Marines.

“He was a quiet, but very confident individual,” Henson said. “He would get things done.”

While Henson said Ware was reserved and quiet, Ware had a good personality, which drew his teammates to him.

“The kids liked being around him,” he said. “He was a very likeable young man….He’s just a fine individual.”

Funeral arrangements will be announced later.