Joshua B. Madden dies of injuries from I.E.D.

MINDEN -- A Webster Parish soldier who returned to Iraq over the weekend after a leave home was killed Wednesday, his family has told The Times.

Sgt. Joshua Barrett Madden, 21, died with at least four other U.S. Army soldiers in Task Force Lightning when a roadside bomb detonated near them. They were conducting combat operations near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. He was one of 11 U.S. military personnel killed that day.

"He just got back to Iraq Sunday," said his father, Jerry Madden, a music minister who until recently lived in Sibley. "We put him on the airplane in Shreveport" the morning of Dec. 1.

Joshua Madden joined the Army in June 2003, shortly after graduating from Minden High School. The member of the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii served one previous tour in Iraq, got married in October 2005 and was the father of a 3-month-old son, Jerry Madden said. Josh Madden would have mustered out of Army service in June.

"He mentioned to us before he went back that this was probably the best leave he had ever had," his father said. Earlier leaves were good, "but he had more of a complete feeling because he had a wife and child."

His widow is Aimee Danielle "Dani" Smock Madden, 21, originally from Athens in Claiborne Parish, and the couple's new son is Jaxon Levi Madden, born Sept. 1.

Josh Madden originally intended to go to college to become an officer after he had gained on-the-ground experience as a soldier, his father said, but had decided to go to college possibly to pursue a civilian career after he married and had a son.

"He always wanted to be in the military," Jerry Madden said. "We talked to him about going to college first, and he said they don't respect lieutenants who go straight into service from college. He wanted to get experience and then go back in as an officer. He said he would have the hash marks to prove it."

For Dani Madden, his death is a crushing loss, though Thursday night a throng of family, friends and well-wishers, forming a stream through the family's cozy home in Minden, provided support and solace.

"He was the only person who made me laugh or be happy," she said. "I won't be happy, or laugh, for a long time."

Madden is at least the 90th Louisiana soldier, or soldier assigned to a Louisiana unit, to die in combat since Sept. 11, 2001.

Another local soldier, Army Pvt. Josh Burrows, was killed Nov. 26 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. In addition to having the same first name, the soldiers were close in age, had each gotten married recently and each had an infant son.

"We read about that young soldier, and felt for his family," Jerry Madden said. That was before the knock came on his door and two Army officers broke the terrible news to him and his family Wednesday night.

Josh Madden's mother is Cindy Madden, a well-known music teacher for several schools in the Minden area. He has three older siblings who survive him, Jennifer Banamati, David C. Madden and Kevin D. Madden.

Jerry Madden said his son was a private person would have hated any publicity surrounding his death, but he'd shared thoughts of passing with an older brother during his leave.

"He told his older brother 'If I don't make it, don't mourn for me, celebrate my life,'" his father said. "Everyone he came in contact with, he touched one way or the other."

He said plans are being made for his son's funeral.

"This is going to be a celebration of his life, because he meant so much to so many people," Jerry Madden said.

Josh Madden is the first soldier from Minden to die in the war, and the loss of five soldiers from storied Schofield Barracks was the Hawaiian fort's single largest loss of life in battle since the Vietnam War.

Col. Tim Ryan, rear detachment commander of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, said Thursday that the news of the five deaths strengthens "our resolve to comfort and support these families and our community.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, loved ones and comrades of these brave soldiers," he said. "Learning that someone you love isn't coming home is the most difficult news to hear, and this incident speaks to the incredible sacrifice borne not only by our soldiers but by families across our nation."

From the Shreveport Times