Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009

Funeral for Germantown soldier will be held Saturday

The funeral for a Germantown soldier killed in Afghanistan has been scheduled for Saturday in Germantown.

Illinois Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joshua Melton, 26, was killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan June 19.

He enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 2000 before graduating from Central Community High School in Breese.

This was Joshua Melton's second deployment; his first was to Iraq, from December 2004 to March 2006. Melton was deployed in October and was serving as part of the 33rd Infantry Bridge Combat Team in Afghanistan which was deployed last year to help train the Afghan Army and National Police. His unit worked to protect training teams, fight the Taliban and roll back the heroin trade.

He had planned to be home in September to spend time with his wife, Larissa, and 16-month-old daughter, Aubrey.

In a statement, Larissa Melton said it was her husband's dream to be a hero "and that is what he is, a hero."

Visitation for Melton will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the Moss Funeral Home at 630 Railroad St. in Germantown.

The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the St. Boniface Catholic Church at 306 Munster in Germantown. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery at 1303 Lake Road in Carlyle with full military honors.

Condolences for the family of Melton can be sent to: Family of Staff Sgt. Joshua Melton, c/o Joshua Lueker, 3686 Logan Road, W. Frankfort, Ill., 62896.

Memorials can be made to his daughter through the Aubrey Melton Trust Fund and can be given through the funeral home or Germantown Trust and Savings Bank.