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Soldier chose
duty over safety
Family and friends remember
the Schofield infantryman who
died after returning to Iraq
Army Spc. Joseph Herndon II didn't have to return to Iraq after he got his second Purple Heart. He could have opted for another assignment, away from the bombs and bullets that wounded him twice and would eventually kill him.
But friends say the Schofield Barracks soldier and Kansas native would have never chosen his own safety over the chance to provide fellow soldiers with his support and camaraderie.
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"Once he received two purple hearts, they gave him the option of coming home," wrote Herndon's wife, Melanie, in a July 23 entry to her Web site diary. "He and I talked and he is going to stay and finish what he went to do. ... Just no more Purple Hearts. I made him promise before he left."
Penny Reid, Herndon's former employer in Derby, Kan., said the soldier "went back because he wanted to be with his friends and his unit."
"He went to be with those guys and to support them and to finish his job," she said. "That's Joe."
Others who knew the 21-year-old agreed, and remembered him yesterday as a true friend and committed soldier who lit up rooms and always left behind a good impression.
"I just don't want this to be for nothing because he was so amazing," said Kristina Feldt, who went to high school with Herndon. "I just remember ... how much he cared about everyone. He worked very hard at doing everything the best that he could."
Ryan Winegar, who is stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, also met Herndon in high school and struck up a lasting friendship.
Winegar said he last saw his friend 10 days ago, when Herndon was in the islands on leave.
"We talked about Iraq," Winegar said. "He was in high spirits. He was proud of what he was doing. ... And he knew he was going back."
Herndon was first wounded April 7 when his unit came under mortar fire. The incident garnered him a Purple Heart. He got a second Purple Heart after being injured on June 25, when his convoy was hit by an explosive in Hawijah.
"He said it was just part of his job," Winegar said. "He was proud of what he was doing. ... He wanted to serve his country."
Herndon was sent to Schofield in November. He had married Melanie, his high school sweetheart, just months earlier.
Herndon's family has declined comment. But their devotion to the soldier can be seen all over Melanie Herndon's Web site, where she kept a log of her husband's tour in the Middle East and invited friends and family to post messages.
Herndon's last entry on the site was made Wednesday. She said she had not heard from her husband in days, but knew he was back at his Iraq base.
On the site yesterday, friends had posted condolences for Herndon's family and wife.
"He was truly a hero," wrote Phil Hurst, who said he and his son had known Herndon.
"Please know," said Katie Wilson, a high school friend of the couple, "that we are thinking about you and praying for you."
Herndon's small hometown has lost four serviceman in Iraq or Afghanistan over the past 17 months, according to the Wichita Eagle. He is the 12th Kansan to be killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, and the sixth from Hawaii's 25th Infantry Division.
"Joe doesn't deserve this," Winegar said. "I can't really describe how much I'll miss him. He'll be in my heart forever. He's just affected a lot more people than he could ever imagine."
Herndon will be buried in Kansas. His funeral arrangements are pending. An Army spokeswoman said a private prayer service for Herndon will be held tomorrow at Schofield Barracks.