SPC JOSIAH D. CRUMPLER

Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler, 27 of Hillsborough, NC, died on 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 everyday." He will be dearly missed by his comrades, his wife and step-children and his entire family." He is survived by his wife, Shana, and two children, Hannah and Seth Smith of Hope Mills, NC; his parents, Pam Plummer Crumpler and Dennis Wayne Crumpler, brothers Micah and John of Hillsborough, NC; sister Joy Crumpler Long (Daniel) of Hickory, NC; paternal grandmother, Joyce Pate Crumpler of Goldsboro, NC; aunts Candace Crim of Chapel Hill, NC, Darlene Andrey of Fremont, NC, Christy Gandy of Goldsboro, NC; and an uncle Chris Plummer of Zebulon, NC. Durham Herald-Sun, 3/8/2010