Justin Walsh remembered

Cuyahoga Falls- As this city mourned the death of Marine Sgt. Justin Walsh, his high school celebrated his life on the football field where he played for four years.

The crowd honored Walsh, a 2001 graduate and an enthusiastic nose guard at Cuyahoga Falls High School, before Friday night's homecoming game against Mayfield High School.

Walsh's jersey number, 56, was painted in white in the end zones. His picture also appeared on giant posters, and a banner was displayed reading "Fallen Hero."

Walsh, 24, died from injuries from a roadside bomb during his third tour of Iraq. An explosive-ordnance technician with the Second Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C., he was trying to defuse a bomb Oct. 4 when he was critically wounded by another.

Walsh was flown from Iraq to the Na tional Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he died Wednesday.

After a funeral Thursday in Cuyahoga Falls, he will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

On Friday, Walsh's teachers remembered him as a leader in the classroom and on the football field, where he played for four years and lettered for three of those years.

"Justin was a good player," said American government teacher Greg Roth. "He went out on the field to play and win."

Roth taught Walsh in three government classes and advised him on the Student Council.

"Justin enjoyed life and liked to have fun just like any other kid," Roth said. "But he also had a serious side to him. As a freshman, Justin talked about going into the Marine Corps. Academically, he could have gone anywhere he wanted to go, but chose the Corps. He knew the dangers involved."

Humanities teacher Joel Morgan said Walsh was a focused young man who led by example.

"I remember his leadership skills in the classroom," Morgan said. "He did it in a way that the other students didn't know he was doing it. If you needed him to bail you out of a quiet, nonparticipating event, you could count on Justin to get the conversation going."

In high school, Walsh also belonged to the wrestling team, National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer

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