MILLBROOK, AL, US
U.S. Army
SPC,723D EOD CO, 184TH ORDNANCE BN, FORT CAMPBELL, KY
01/19/2011, KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN
Army Specialist Joshua Lancaster of Millbrook was soft-spoken and cared about his friends, explained Tracy Joyce, who first met Lancaster when the two were elementary school classmates. Joyce said “Lancaster’s death while serving his country speaks to his character. He was so unselfish.”
Specialist Lancaster was expected to return home from Afghanistan on February 11th. Friends were planning a party for him, but Lancaster wanted to keep things modest, Joyce said.
“He said all he wanted was hamburgers and hot dogs.”
When Joyce moved to Millbrook at age 10, Joyce quickly became friends with Joshua. He said the two, along with fellow classmate Justin Willis, formed a tight trio. Joyce said the friendship “must have been in the cards” because they often had the same classes throughout their school years. When Lancaster joined the Army, there came a time when the three friends went their separate ways. Joshua’s coming home party in February was going to serve as a reunion of sorts, Joyce added. “It was going to bring everyone together,” he said. “Everyone was going to be there for him.”
Lancaster married Melanie Davis and moved to Clarksville, Tennessee about the time he joined the Army in March 2008. On behalf of the town of Millbrook Al Kelley, the mayor, exclaimed: “We appreciate what he did for the country. We mourn with the family.”
Kim Irwin, Joshua’s Mother added this special comment on Specialist Lancaster’s Legacy Guest Book
October 26, 2011
Thank you all for your comments for my son, he is missed terribly. His smile always made my day a little brighter. Anyone that knew him knew that smile I’m speaking of. He will never be forgotten. Kim Irwin, Millbrook, Alabama