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Joshua L Rath

Decatur, Alabama

January 8, 2009

Age

Military

Rank

Unit/Location

Army

SSG

2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

Fort Hood, Texas

Killed in Maywand, Afghanistan, when their dismounted patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Staff Sgt. Joshua Lee Rath
Obituary
Funeral for Staff Sgt. Joshua Lee Rath, 22, of Decatur will be Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, at 11 a.m. at Calvary Assembly of God with Senior Pastor George Sawyer, Pastor Stacey Turney and Pastor Jeff Walters officiating and Roselawn Funeral Home directing.
Burial will be in East Lawrence Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Josh, who died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was born Jan. 17, 1986, in Tinley Park, Ill., to Leroy G. Rath and Darlene L. Rath. He was an Austin High School graduate and a lifeguard at Point Mallard. He was a member of Calvary Assembly of God. His hobbies were swimming, diving, rock climbing and living life to the fullest. Josh served four and a half years in the military as a staff sergeant and squad leader in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry and 1st Infantry Division. He was awarded the Purple Heart, "True Blue", and four Army Achievement Medals. His grandparents, Fred and Marion Rath and Christ Litto, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his fiancee' of five years, Kimberly Taylor; parents, Leroy and Darlene Rath; two brothers, James Rath and Joel Rath; two sisters, Joy Jetter and her husband, David, of Houston, Texas, and Julia Mae Rath of Decatur; and grandmother, Eleanor M. Litto of Chicago, Ill.
Pallbearers will be the U.S. Military Honor Guard.
Honorary pallbearers will be T.J. Rees, Jeff Pool and Sean Heironimus.
Published in the Decatur Daily on January 16, 2009