FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division gathered together March 12 to remember the life of Spc. Joshua Carrol, who died as the results of an automobile accident Feb. 26 in Cameron, Texas.

“Today I find comfort that Josh Carrol was a special young man. I am saddened that he was taken from our ranks far too early but inspired by the life he lived,” battalion commander, Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl said during the service. “What inspires me about Josh was that he was a young man of faith. A professed Christian who drew upon that faith to embody the motto and values of the 5th Cavalry – loyalty and courage.”

Carrol was born April 3, 1987 in Magnolia, Texas and joined the military Feb. 15, 2006 attending basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga., where he earned the military occupational specialty of infantryman.

After completing his initial entry training, Carrol was assigned to Co. C, 1-5 Cav.

“I can only imagine the look on Josh’s face when he was told that he, an infantryman, would be assigned to Charlie Company,” his company commander, Capt. Jason Dudley, said. “Of all the world’s injustices: a grunt in a tank company.”

Although the assignment may not have been ideal for an infantryman, Dudley said Carrol never complained about his circumstances.

Carrol deployed with his unit in October 2006 serving as a humvee gunner, driver and dismount with a military transition team in the Washash area of Baghdad. While in Iraq, Carrol participated in numerous training events demonstrating effective counterinsurgency techniques and procedures to Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division.

His platoon leader, 1st Lt. Grant Hines, remembered Carrol, who was also the youngest member of his platoon, as fiercely loyal and dedicated to his service and fellow Soldiers.

“Once he considered you a friend, he would readily die for you,” Hines said.

Unknown to most of his fellow Soldiers, Carrol was perpetually suffering from a shoulder and collarbone injury that he received during his training at Fort Benning.

“A lesser man may have used that as an excuse to avoid a deployment – not Josh,” Dudley said. “Josh kept quiet about the physical pain that he was dealing with and he did what he though he was supposed to do.”

The injury eventually forced Carrol to redeploy early so that he could undergo rehabilitation.

All who spoke about Carrol during his memorial mentioned his unfaltering service despite the daily pain he dealt with.

“He served day in and day out – another example of the loyalty that he felt for his fellow Soldiers in his unit and the courage to continue the mission despite hardship and pain,” Kuehl said.

Spc. Joshua Carrol is survived by his stepfather Tilbert D. Foreman, grandmother Frances Jamison, aunt Beth Parker and fiancé Rachael Brown.