Army Specialist Joel L. Bertoldie, 20, of Independence, Missouri, was assigned to Headquarters Company, 4-64 Armor Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia. He died on July 18th, 2003, when an explosive device detonated beneath the vehicle he was driving, throwing him from it in Fallujah, Iraq.

With hopes of becoming a marine biologist or study oceanography, SPC Bertoldie joined the Army shortly after graduating from Truman High School in 2001, to help pay for college. He entered training at Fort Knox in April 2001 as a 19K M1 armor crewman and was assigned to Fort Stewart in September 2002. SPC Bertoldie was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

SPC Bertoldie’s mother remembered him as “pretty happy-go-lucky” and said that when he wanted to accomplish something, he did not hold back. His grandmother described him as bright and outgoing and recalled their playful arguments about why the Dallas Cowboys were better than the Kansas City Chiefs. Shortly before his death, Joel emailed his family and told them how much he missed them and looked forward to coming home.

He was survived by his parents and infant son.