Justin Walsh dies from I.E.D. injuries received in Iraq on 3rd tour

Marine Sgt. Justin Walsh, a 2001 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, has died of injuries suffered in Iraq.

The 24-year-old, red-haired Marine, serving his third tour in Iraq, was wounded Oct. 4 and died Wednesday at the National Navy Hospital in Bethesda, Md., his father, Jim Walsh, said.

Walsh was an explosive ordnance technician who worked on diffusing roadside bombs and mines, his father said.

He was critically wounded when, while diffusing an improvised explosive device, a second roadside bomb exploded.

He was flown from Iraq to Maryland and died about 3 a.m. Wednesday, said his father, who lives in Mantua in Portage County.

He is also the son of Terri Walsy of North Benton and has a brother, James Walsh II, and a sister, Heather Marie Walsh, his father said.

Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart said the city received confirmation of the Marine's death today and he immediately lowered flags at City Hall to half-staff.

According to the Web site of Cuyahoga Falls High School, which posted a memorial to him today, Walsh played football, and wrestled, was a member of Student Council, Latin Club, the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Walsh is the fifth serviceman with ties to Cuyahoga Falls to die in Iraq, Robart said.

The others are:

Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Crabtree, 31, a Cuyahoga Falls police officer; Army Sgt. Bryan Large, 31; Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Boskovitch, 25, whose father, James Boskovitch, lives in Cuyahoga Falls; and Marine Cpl. Andrew Brownfield, 24, of Akron, who lived part of his life in Cuyahoga Falls.

The deaths of so many sons of Cuyahoga Falls "takes a toll,'' Robart said.

Walsh's father said his son was proud to be a Marine.

"He loved his country'' and loved working with explosive ordnance, his father said.

The father, a Vietnam era Army veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne, praised the medical team that worked with his son.

"The medical staff did a wonderful job,'' he said. "At least, he died in this country.''

Cuyahoga Falls High School Principal Nick Valentine said the death of Walsh hits home "because we send so many kids off to the armed services now, and all of us realize the odds of this happening are getting greater, not lesser.''

Walsh's death, he said, "makes you reflect and understand a little bit better that the impact of the war is on all of us.''

Greg Roth, a social studies teacher teacher at Cuyahoga Falls High School who was Walsh's Advanced Placement History teacher, said Walsh had talked about going into the Marines from the time he was a freshman.

He said Walsh had a great sense of humor but a serious side as well.

"He seemed to know what was important and what wasn't,'' Roth said. "You're talking about a fantastic young man and I would have told you that two months ago as well.''

Even as he and his family are preparing for the funeral of his son, Walsh's father said that Americans must remember that thousands of Marines and soldiers are being wounded.

"A lot of them don't have arms or legs,'' he said. "We shouldn't forget those who have been wounded.''

And Americans must remember that a war is happening, he said.

"This is a war,'' he said. "People die in war.''

From the Beacon Journal