KENT KRIEGSHAUSER/The Register-MailMembers of the 5th Engineer Battalion of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. carry the casket of Capt. Joshua Steele from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Monmouth late Monday morning after funeral services there. SteeleÕs family follows, including his sister Gina, mother, Paula, and father, Philip, from left middle.
'Never going to stop missing you'
Fallen soldier from North Henderson recalled as an 'absolutely amazing person'
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
MONMOUTH - A solemn funeral Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Monday morning sent Capt. Joshua E. Steele to his eternal rest.The early morning fog had burned off by 10 a.m. and the sky was blue. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders stood in front of the church, U.S. flags proudly displayed.
"What a special and absolutely amazing person he was," Steele's older sister, Gina Steele, 38, of San Francisco, told family, friends and members of the military gathered inside the church.
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Gina Steele, the sister of Joshua Steele, Paula, his mother, and Philip, his father, from left, watch as the casket containing the body of Josh Steele is removed from the hearse Monday morning at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Monmouth prior to funeral services. |
Steele was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army's 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, (Transition Team), Fort Riley, Kan. However, he spent much of his 4 1/2-year military career at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He was assigned to the 5th and later the 35th engineering battalion at Fort Leonard Wood and was deployed to Iraq in 2003 with the 5th Engineering Battalion. The pallbearers for Steele's funeral were from the 5th Engineering Battalion.
Steele is the sixth member of the military from this area to die in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The ritual of the funeral mass lent a dignified air to the solemn occasion. The Rev. Christopher Haake, a friend of the family, said he didn't know Josh, but through what he called "some beautiful and remarkable writing" was able to learn about the young soldier's too-brief life.
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Monmouth Assistant Fire Chief Brian Morefield leads a line of Monmouth and Galesburg firefighters as they salute the funeral procession of Capt. Joshua Steele on its way out of Monmouth late Monday morning. |
He reassured those grieving the loss of a son, brother, friend, by telling them of Steele's great faith and his place in heaven. Still, he admitted, "The loss of a friend or family member is hard, even with our great faith. ... Now, Josh had faith in his family and faith in our government and especially faith in the Army," Haake said. "He had faith in his friends and relationships but all built on that faith in Christ."
With the flag-draped casket sitting nearby, Haake said, "I can't pretend to know Josh, but I know about him. ... I know he tried and, in many ways, succeeded. ... His virtues are what we can imitate."
Josh Steele's brother, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Steele, 40, and his other sister, Army 1st Lt. Lucinda Piotrowski, read from the Scriptures.
Gina Steele's pride in her little brother was apparent. She talked of how he loved rocks and dinosaurs from the age of 5 and read books about both. As he grew older, he began to read J.R.R. Tolkien. Not just "The Hobbit," and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy but also other Tolkien books. Gina Steele remembered Josh convinced his mother to read some of those other works.
"And he would quiz her about them," she said. "I remember he was actually working his way through 'War and Peace' when he was 8."
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Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is reflected in the hood of a truck as members of the Patriot Guard Riders and others mill about outside the church as the funeral service for Capt. Joshua Steele takes place inside. |
Recalling his sense of humor made Gina Steele smile briefly on this saddest of days. She said when he was still fairly young, as he was eating some of his mother's lasagna, he leaned over and said to Lucinda, "This lasagna is missing something - taste."
She had one more memory to share, of when she went off to college; Josh was only 7. She asked if he would miss her. She said her brother was very honest about everything, even this.
'"Well, you know, Gina, I get busy, and when I'm busy, I don't think of you that much,'" she said Josh told her.
With emotion that would eventually overwhelm her creeping into her voice, Gina had a message for Josh.
"No matter how busy I ever get, I am never going to stop thinking about you," she said, "and I am never going to stop missing you, Joshua. ... I love you so much."
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said athletes and movie stars are sometimes considered heroes, but the word is often overused.
"Josh was a hero," Quinn said. "He loved his country more than self. ... We love Josh and we always will."
Capt. Steele was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Bishop Daniel Jenky also took part in Monday's service.
About 11:45 a.m., the funeral procession passed under a giant American flag between two fire department ladder trucks on North Main Street, at Archer Avenue. People holding flags gathered for blocks on Main Street to watch. The procession traveled on U.S. 34 to Galesburg, then west on I-74 to Woodhull. Josh Steele was laid to rest in St. John's Cemetery, near Woodhull.
About the Service
Funeral mass for Capt. Joshua E. Steele at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Monmouth
Partial list of songs before service: "This is my Country," "America the Beautiful," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "God Bless America."
Hymns during service: "On Eagle's Wings," "Be Not Afraid."
Length of service: About 90 minutes
Number of people in attendance: 500 (estimated)
