Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey

Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pa., died June 26 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Although he spent only a few hours in Lawrence County, Marine Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey will join other heroes buried here. Caskey, 24, a convoy commander, was in a lead vehicle when an improvised explosive device detonated last week in Afghanistan. He was killed while his driver sustained only a broken arm. The 2004 graduate of North Hills High School in Pittsburgh is the son of the Rev. Gerald and Debbie Caskey. His father is pastor of Unity Baptist Church, 304 Old Route 19 in Harlansburg, where a full military funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, following a public viewing from 10 to 11. Calling hours also are scheduled for Monday afternoon and evening at H.P. Brandt Funeral Home, 1032 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh. Caskey will be the first casualty of war to be buried in Lawrence County since Marine Cpl. Albert P. Gettings in 2006. Whenever Joseph Caskey was home from the service, he would go to hear his father preach. His last visit was Easter Sunday. “We’re experiencing an extreme amount of mourning and loss,” Gerald Caskey, 68, said. “But the thing we have to do now is honor our son for who he was and what he stood for.” The pastor said his son requested that he have a full military funeral should he be killed in action. “We want to pay tribute to him and honor that request,” said Caskey, who noted that the church has given a plot to the family for Joseph’s burial. He said the cemetery located adjacent to the church is historic and that many veterans are buried there. Caskey’s three younger sons all evolved toward military life, following in the footsteps of both mom and dad, who met when they were in the Army. Eldest son John is the only non-military member of the family. He lives in Alabama. Jeremy, 31, is a reservist in the Air Force and a student at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Josh, 29, is also a Marine. He is in the wounded warriors battalion west in Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he is being treated for tramautic brain injury sustained in Iraq. Gerald Caskey said Joseph picked up on the military because his older brothers were serving when he was in school. He added that the bond between father and sons went deeper because of their military connection. “What the military represents along with our personal beliefs are very important to us all.” Gerald called Joseph “a child of my old age,” because he was 44 when his youngest son was born. “I had more time to spend with him because the others were grown. We had a very close relationship.” Gerald described Joseph as a selfless person who put others’ needs before his own. “He was a great leader of men, a take-charge kind of guy.

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Marine Saluting Courtesy Sgt Michal S. Williams

He was a convoy commander at age 24 because his superiors indentified him as a man who could lead in combat. He relished opportunity to be out front.” He said Joseph displayed toughness and tenderness in equal measure. “He was the kind of man you pray that your son will turn out to be,” Gerald said. “He fulfilled our greatest expectations, never flinching or complaining. He had a chemistry, a magnetism to pull people to him. It was that way when he went to North Hills High School.” Gerald said he and his wife spoke with Joseph on the telephone a few days before his death. “There had been other events in which there were casualties and we had a sense things we bad there (near the Pakastani border),” Gerald said. “The Marines were trying to root out Taliban and gain more ground. “We’d like people to know what kind of man Joseph was.” ·

Gerald Caskey said Joseph picked up on the military because his older brothers were serving when he was in school. He added that the bond between father and sons went deeper because of their military connection. “What the military represents along with our personal beliefs are very important to us all.” Gerald called Joseph “a child of my old age,” because he was 44 when his youngest son was born. “I had more time to spend with him because the others were grown. We had a very close relationship.” Gerald described Joseph as a selfless person who put others’ needs before his own. “He was a great leader of men, a take-charge kind of guy. He was a convoy commander at age 24 because his superiors indentified him as a man who could lead in combat. He relished opportunity to be out front.” He said Joseph displayed toughness and tenderness in equal measure. “He was the kind of man you pray that your son will turn out to be,” Gerald said. “He fulfilled our greatest expectations, never flinching or complaining. He had a chemistry, a magnetism to pull people to him. It was that way when he went to North Hills High School.” Gerald said he and his wife spoke with Joseph on the telephone a few days before his death. “There had been other events in which there were casualties and we had a sense things we bad there (near the Pakastani border),” Gerald said. “The Marines were trying to root out Taliban and gain more ground. “We’d like people to know what kind of