Capt. Joshua S. Meadows

Capt. Joshua S. Meadows, 30, of Bastrop, Texas, died Sept. 5 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
 

An accomplished Marine who was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Meadows is said to have been very proud to serve his country and had been deployed overseas several times throughout his military career. In August of 2008, Meadows was the lead Marine Corps Huey helicopter pilot seeing action in the Gulf of Aden in an operation that prevented a pirate attack on the Gem of Kilakarai, a Singapore cargo ship. Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, were deployed aboard the USS Peleliu provided aerial support and explosive ordnance disposal during the mission. Meadows graduated from Elgin High School in 1997 and joined the U.S. Marines Corps before completing his high school studies. He was listed as active duty in May 1997 and reported to boot camp in San Diego. He was on active duty there through December. In January 1998, he enrolled at Texas Tech University and served as a member of a reserve unit in Austin, where he attended monthly drills and spent six weeks in the summer with his unit. Meadows graduated from TTU with a degree in business in four years and attended one session of summer school. He then was commissioned as an officer and attended a two-year program in flight school.