[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 77 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF FALLEN MISSISSIPPI SOLDIER ARMY SERGEANT (SGT) 
                           JOSHUA SHANE LADD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TRENT KELLY

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 4, 2017

  Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in memory of 
fallen Mississippi soldier Army Sergeant (SGT) Joshua Shane Ladd who 
paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our nation on May 1, 2004, 
during Operation Iraqi Freedom. SGT Ladd, a Mississippi Army National 
Guard soldier, was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his 
vehicle outside of Mosul, Iraq.
  SGT Ladd, a Port Gibson native, was assigned to the 367th Maintenance 
Company, Army National Guard, Dekalb, Mississippi. SGT Ladd volunteered 
for service shortly after his unit was mobilized in 2003. According to 
an article published in The Neshoba Democrat in January 2005, SGT Ladd 
was honored by an overflow crowd during a memorial service held on May 
7 at the McClain-Hays Funeral Home. Outside of the funeral home, many 
people held flags and lined the streets which led to the Eastlawn 
Cemetery where SGT Ladd was laid to rest with full military honors.
  Major General Harold A. Cross, Adjutant General of the Mississippi 
National Guard, posthumously presented SGT Ladd with a Bronze Star for 
meritorious service and a Purple Heart. The newspaper article states 
that Major General Cross presented the Mississippi Magnolia Cross for 
meritorious service, saying SGT Ladd distinguished himself by making 
the ultimate sacrifice. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour would later 
award SGT Ladd with the Mississippi Medal of Valor.
  ``He always wanted to be in the military and shoot big guns,'' SGT 
Ladd's cousin, Debbie Chisholm, said to the Associated Press. ``He 
wanted to be a soldier since he was a little boy.''
  SGT Ladd is survived by his parents, Randy and Deborah Ladd.
  SGT Ladd's service will always be remembered.

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