Joshua Watkins laid to rest

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Family members, friends and fellow Marines came together in Mandarin on Friday to bid their final farewell to a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.

Cpl. Joshua Watkins, 25, grew up in St. Johns County. He died on Saturday after being shot while on foot patrol in Fallujah.

The Nease High School graduate, a member of the 2nd Tank Battalion based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., was killed less than two weeks before he was expected to return home.

"He was supposed to come home next Tuesday, and instead we're going to bury him," his mother, Amy Watkins-Vazquez, said. "He's coming home, but not the way I want."

The few hundred mourners who filled the All Souls Anglican Church in Mandarin for Watkins' funeral knew him at various stages of his life. Some knew Watkins as a child, others knew him as a man and many knew him as a Marine.

"It has been hard to believe that he's not with us anymore, but I think he believed in what he was doing, and you've got to stay strong for that," said Watkins' friend, Jason Youst.

Carlos Holstein served with Watkins in Iraq and was one of many Marines who attended the funeral service and said their training could ease the pain only so much.

"I was just thinking about the good things I remember about him, like how he was one of the best pistol shooters I've ever met," Holstein said. "We're trained to deal with those types of things and immediately react in a situation. It's days like these when it's hard. It's a really tough thing."

The Rev. Whitey Haugan read Watkins' eulogy. He said he watched Watkins grow up in the church and that he was convinced the young man who became a Marine is now in a better place.

"He went over there as a real believer, and he was thoroughly committed to making a difference. He knew anything could happen, but his commitment is what carried him," Haugan said. "He had a strong sense that there was more than just joining. He really sensed that he had a calling. He wanted to be an officer and go on and really be a top-notch server."

The Watkins family said it is setting up a college fund in its loved one's name to help Marines who want to go back to school.

From WJXT 4

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Joshua C. Watkins killed in combat