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Fallen heroes
Family and friends of Joshua
Titcomb honor his sacrifice in Iraq
Pfc. Joshua Kuile Paul Titcomb was excited about becoming a father, said his fiancee, Laura McCord, as her voice trembled during services at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Waianae yesterday.
"He was so happy when he found out he was going to be a dad," said McCord, who is expecting their first child. "I feel him every day watching over us and taking care of us."
Titcomb, 20, of the 2nd Infantry Division, died from his injuries in Ar Ramadi on Sept. 29 after an improvised explosive device exploded near his military vehicle a day earlier.
Family members and friends wiped away tears during the Mass yesterday as they honored Titcomb in the church where he was baptized 14 years ago.
"Joshua sacrificed his life for his country and the values this country stands for," said the Rev. Sebastian Chacko.
McCord shared memories of Titcomb. They met in South Korea, where they were both stationed.
"We were inseparable," said McCord, a soldier. The couple was together for nine months before he was deployed to Iraq.
McCord described it as the "best nine months of my life."
"He gave me a part of him and I'm so happy for that," she said.
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Titcomb was born on Jan. 13, 1984, and grew up in Waianae. He graduated from Waianae High School in 2001.
His father, Tennison, told reporters that he was proud of his son, who loved serving in the military and being a "tanker." He named his tank Alize, and told his father that one day he would become a sergeant.
"My son died for his country. Joshua knew what he was doing, what he was getting into," said Titcomb. "It was a good thing that my son did."
Joshua kept in contact with his parents, especially his mother, during his deployment.
"It's a terrible loss. My wife and I really, really miss him and love him and we don't get those phone calls (from Joshua) anymore," said Titcomb, who last spoke to his son three weeks ago. "But we know that what he did, he did for us, his family, who came first."
When Tennison was informed of his son's death, his mind was flooded with memories of the time he saw his son through the nursery window the day he was born.
"That was the first thing that came to my mind," said Tennison, recalling how he first observed his son's blond hair.
He remembered a couple commenting on how "cute the haole baby" was. "I was standing right there. They didn't know I was his father," said Titcomb. "So things like that, those are the things that are always in my heart."
Friend Jared Johnson, who called Titcomb by his nickname "Buzz," said during services that he was the most free-spirited person he has ever known.
"Joshua's natural charm and charisma will never be forgotten," said Johnson.
"His heart was full of aloha," said Titcomb's uncle, Bulla Henderson, who delivered the eulogy. "He had a lot of potential."
McCord was presented with both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for Titcomb at his burial service at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe yesterday.
The City Council is expected to honor Titcomb for his military service today.
Titcomb is also survived by his mother, Elizabeth; six brothers, David Perry, Tennison Jr., Timothy, Joseph, Kamaleiokekaiakauanaulu Henderson and Keola; two sisters, Ka'iulani and Katrina; and grandparents Agnes Titcomb, Amos Cisneros and Rannie and Stephanie Henderson.
Jeungjin Kim’s
storybook romance ends
in tragedy on battlefield
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The two met at age 18 in Honolulu while going to different colleges. He was the handsome man of her dreams who swept the self-described sheltered, nerdy momma's girl off her feet.
The two defied their parents to be together.
She joined the Army because he joined the Army.
"We'd do anything for each other," Ayoung Kim said.
On Oct. 6, Jeungjin Kim, a member of the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, of the 2nd Infantry Division, was killed when his patrol was attacked by a homemade bomb and small arms fire in Ar Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad.
Ayoung Kim said he suffered a gunshot wound to his body and died en route to being medevaced.
He was the 15th person with Hawaii ties to die in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.
Two days before he was killed, Jeungjin Kim wrote that he never thought anyone in his Army unit would get hurt.
"Mortar rounds come in every once in a while," said Kim, an Army private, in an e-mail he posted Oct. 4 on the Hawaiigamer.com Internet bulletin board.
"I felt like my (artillery) battery would never get hit by one though. For some reason I felt like no one I knew would get hurt. I guess I was in some type of denial. Yesterday when I was out there, some Iraqi took a shot at us with AK-47 then with RPG (rocket propelled grenade)."
On Oct. 4, Kim, 23, said one of the soldiers in his unit lost part of his right leg when insurgents attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade.
"It was so fast that all they saw was trail of smoke and next thing you know he's down on the ground shooting. I've been here for about two months now. I was never fazed (or realized) how bad this place is until two days ago. Couple people died from my battalion. No one that I knew in person."
Kim said his unit went on patrol about every two days, "kicking doors in. Searching people's houses."
Several times in his message, he urged people to "support the troops, not the politics."
He added: "Over here we can't get away from politics ... everything we do got something to do with politics. Gotta play Mr. Nice Guy when we are getting shot at."
Yesterday evening his body was returned to Honolulu.
Ayoung Kim, stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., is on maternity leave staying with family in Honolulu.
The Kims planned the details of their life: How she would be a stay-at-home mom, he would become a police officer and come home to their children and help them with homework, she said.
A month and six days ago, their first child, a son, was born. Jeungjin picked the name: Apollo Ikaika Kim, a name she was not fond of, but he was his father's dream child.
She had fears when he was deployed from Korea to Iraq. "When he went this time, that was my fear, that he wouldn't come home," she said.
Jeungjin Kim was born in Korea and moved to the United States during his high school years speaking little English and graduated from an Ohio high school. He moved to Hawaii and attended Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in business, but contemplated a career in the CIA, FBI, the military and finally decided on the Honolulu Police Department.
"He wanted to serve and protect," Ayoung Kim said. But he "wanted to be the anonymous face protecting. He didn't like attention."
Jeungjin was good at everything he did, whether a soldier or a gamer (fond of playing the military game Counterstrike), she said.
She described him as a "man's man," a "hoo-ya soldier," the perfect soldier whose uniform was always pressed and boots were always shined.
"It killed him every day I was a higher rank," said Ayoung, a private first class.
Ayoung, a Hawaii Mission Academy graduate, attended the University of Hawaii, and wanted to go into the medical field.
But her husband wanted her to stay at home. He envisioned coming home to a hot, home-cooked meal, and helping their four children with homework.
"He's the only child, so that's why he wanted this huge family," Ayoung said. "I didn't want children now. He was the one who begged me."
The two talked about their future life together and their unborn child. He wanted their son to do everything and "become the equivalent of Bill Gates, Puff Daddy and Allen Iverson."
Even while carrying their son, Jeungjin did not want his pregnant wife to think negative thoughts.
After his birth, while she sobbed on the phone with Jeungjin in Iraq, he said: "You cannot cry. He can't see you sad. He must see your smiling face."
Ayoung Kim said he is expected to receive the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and good conduct medal.
Jeungjin Kim may also posthumously receive his U.S. citizenship, Ayoung said. Kim tried to get citizenship, but ran out of time while training for Iraq.
His death has attracted the interest of Korean-language newspapers from all over the country since he may be the first Korean to die in Iraq.
The local Korean Consulate could not confirm whether Kim is the first ethnic Korean or Korean citizen killed in Iraq. No casualties among the Korean troops recently dispatched to Iraq have been reported to the office.
Ayoung said she is not sure how she'll finish the storybook for her son.
"My husband was so young, and wanted to accomplish everything. I'm going to tell my son, 'Your daddy loved you so much, you'll never understand.'"
But she must be careful to honor her husband's wishes not to make Apollo sad.
"Do I tell him he's in heaven? That he died in the war? I have no idea what to tell a child.
"He was the strong one in the family."