R.I.P. Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler

Army Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler
Died March 01, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

27, of Hillsborough, N.C.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died March 1 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Also killed was Spc. Matthew D. Huston.

(The following was taken from m.fayobserver.com of March 9, 2010) HILLSBOROUGH - Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler, 27, of Hillsborough, died Monday, March 1, 2010, when his patrol unit came under attack by insurgents in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.

Spc. Crumpler was serving with the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, which had been deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom since August of 2009.

Spc. Crumpler, a lifelong resident of North Carolina, had distinguished himself as an exemplary combat soldier who loved his God, his family and his country. He is remembered as someone who was "constantly seeking to improve his knowledge as a soldier," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Mahoney, a squad leader in Alpha Company.

"His level of commitment was not something you see every day," Mahoney said.

He will be dearly missed by his comrades, his wife and stepchildren, and his entire family.

He is survived by his wife, Shana, and two children, Hannah and Seth Smith of Hope Mills; his parents, Pam Plummer Crumpler and Dennis Wayne Crumpler; brothers, Micah and John of Hillsborough; sister, Joy Crumpler Long and husband Daniel of Hickory; paternal grandmother, Joyce Pate Crumpler of Goldsboro; aunts, Candace Crim of Chapel Hill, Darlene Andrey of Fremont, and Christy Gandy of Goldsboro; and an uncle, Chris Plummer of Zebulon.

Funeral services will be held at noon Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Abundant Life Church in Hillsborough, with interment following at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Princeton. Visitation will be from 7 to 9 tonight, Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at Walker's Funeral Home in Hillsborough.

Memorials may be made to either the IPHC Royal Rangers Ministry, P.O. Box 208, Franklin Springs, GA 30639; or to the Josiah D. Crumpler Memorial Fund at BB&T, 351 South Churton St., Hillsborough, NC 27278.

Donations to this fund will be directed to organizations dedicated to ministering to the needs of spouses of slain members of the United States military.