Army Sgt. Joel A. House

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Joel A. House, 22, of Lee, Maine

Sgt. House was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 23, 2007 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Army 1st Lt. Daniel P. Riordan, Army Sgt. Jimy M. Malone and Army Spc. Derek A. Calhoun.

Soldier killed in Iraq remembered as modest, funny

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Joel A. House’s humor was on display when he was home in March.

He wore a gray long-sleeved T-shirt that bore a cartoon drawing of a soldier in camouflage standing next to a Humvee.

The yellow lettering read, “Who’s your Baghdaddy?” House, 22, of Lee, Maine, was killed June 23 by a roadside bomb in Taji, Iraq. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. He was on his second tour.

House grew up hunting and fishing in the woods around his home.

He played soccer, baseball and basketball in high school and was known among his friends for his guitar playing.

After his military service, Joel hoped go to school to become a game warden, said Deanna House, his mother. He also is survived by his father, Paul House.

House suffered shrapnel wounds to his head and chest when a suicide attacker exploded a bomb at his barracks in March that left his best friend dead. He was hospitalized for several days and then returned to duty.

“He was humble and modest,” Deanna House said. “He didn’t like to make a hoo-ha about anything he did. We had to pull it out of him,” she said.

Army Sgt. Joel A. House was killed in action on 6/23/07.