WITSMAN - Joshua - AFGHANISTAN WAR - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Covington – Flags are flying at half-staff as this city mourns the loss of a soldier who made his mark in the hearts of many through his military service, as a high school athlete and an all-around “hometown boy.”  Joshua Witsman, a 23-year-old Marine was killed Wednesday during military action in Afghanistan.  Neighbor Phyllis M. Willis watched Witsman grow up from pre-teen to man.  Friday afternoon, she placed American flags in her front yard as she tried to explain how she and many in the Fountain County seat are feeling.  “You hear about this happening, but it is always somewhere else, far away.  You don’t want it to come home, to happen to you,” she said. “This time it came home.”  Willis said news of Witsman’s death spread fast and it seemed to effect everyone. Friday afternoon cars slowed down as they passed the Witsman’s childhood home on the tree-lined Crockett Street where a Marine flag and a US flag flapped in the wind. A year ago hundreds took part in a surprise parade for Witsman when he returned from his first tour in Afghanistan.  “He was just kind of a hometown boy,” Willis said.  Witsman is Greater Lafayette’s 11th member of the military to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total US deaths in those wars is 6,463, according to the Department of Defense. Witsman was a 2007 Covington HS graduate.  His parents are Tom and Kayla Witsman.  Witsman was married.  During Witsman’s senior year he was an offensive lineman/linebacker for the Trojans football team. The Journal & Courier listed the 6’5”  210 pounder as someone to watch that season.  Willis said she was unsure why Witsman chose to enroll in the military and that he was not happy about being deployed again.  “He made it through the first tour. This was the farthest thing from my mind,” she said. “His mom seemed to be a little weary this time, more so than the last time. I was just confident he was going to be all right.”  The Department of Defense had not released information about Witsman’s death as of Friday night. Friends of the family have confirmed that the Witsmans were told of their son’s death Wednesday while they were in North Carolina. Tom and Kayla Witsman traveled to Dover, Md and will return to Covington with their son’s body.  “They are just crushed,” Willis said. Friends say Witsman will be remember not for what he did, but for who he was.  Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Witsman didn’t see himself as a hero, but as a person, Fountain County Deputy Clerk Sarah Roop said. Roop said her biggest memory of Witsman was when the Covington community had a celebration after his return from Afghanistan.  “I don’t think he expected many people to be there, but that’s just who he was,” Roop said.  “He was a very humble person.”  Kala Chambliss, the county’s deputy auditor and a graduate of Covington HS got to know Joshua’s family at the courthouse where his mother worked, she said. “Josh was all-around a great kid, wholesome, always had a smile on his face,” Chambliss aid.  “Even today, people who don’t know him now know him.  He will be sorely missed by everyone.”  Chambliss noted that signs of support in memory of Witsman have been posted in the community.  “It’s awesome to see,” Chambliss said. “We could not be proud of what he did for this country.”

MILITARY – Deaths