Story and photos by Cpl. Mark Garcia
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – On a quiet Friday afternoon, more than 100 coalition servicemembers gathered to honor Sgt. Joshua R. Ashley, a fallen comrade during a memorial ceremony in the Regional Command Southwest chapel, Aug. 17.
Before the ceremony, Marines constructed a traditional field memorial providing them the opportunity to pay their final respects. The memorial consisted of a kevlar with identification tags signifying never to forget Ashley, a rifle with a bayonet upside down signifying a time of prayer and a break in action to pay tribute and a pair of boots signifying this was Ashley’s last march.
Ashley, from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was a dog handler with Military Working Dogs Platoon, Headquarters and Supply Company, 1st Law Enforcement Battalion (Forward), I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward). He was killed in action July 19 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province. During the ceremony fellow dog handlers and friends spoke of the man and Marine Ashley was and what they would remember most about him.
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