Joshua Lloyd Wheeler (November 22, 1975 – October 22, 2015) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

soldier who was killed in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve. He was a master sergeant assigned to the elite

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...

, and was the first American service member killed in action as a result of enemy fire while fighting ISIS militants. He was also the first American to be killed in action in Iraq since November 2011. Wheeler was a highly decorated service member, having earned 11 Bronze Star Medals including four with Valor Devices. He was

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly awarded the Silver Star, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and the Medal of Patriotism.

Early life and education

Wheeler was born in

Roland, Oklahoma Roland is a town in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,169 at the 2010 census, compared to the figure of 2,842 recorded in 2000.Muldrow, Oklahoma Muldrow is a town in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,466 at the 2010 census, an increase of 11.7 percent over the figure of 3,104 reco ...

in 1994. He was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Military career

Wheeler enlisted in the

in May 1995 as an infantryman and completed

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

. He was then stationed at

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis was a United States Army post from 1917 to 2010 located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on 1 February 2010 to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwet ...

and assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment until 1997 when he was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Wheeler deployed three times in support of combat operations to Afghanistan and Iraq with the 75th Ranger Regiment. In 2004 Wheeler was stationed at

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...

and was assigned to the

United States Army Special Operations Command The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the larges ...

's Delta Force in which he was a team leader deploying 11 times to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of combat operations.

Death

Wheeler was killed in the predawn hours of 22 October 2015 during Operation Inherent Resolve as a result of enemy small-arms fire sustained during a raid on an

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

prison compound North of the town of

Hawija Hawija () is the central town of Al-Hawija District in the Kirkuk Province of Iraq, west of Kirkuk, and north of Baghdad. The town has a population of about 100,000 inhabitants. Hawija District has approximately 150,000 inhabitants, mostly pop ...

in Iraq's

Kirkuk province Kirkuk Governorate ( ar, محافظة كركوك, Muḥāfaẓat Karkūk, ku, پارێزگای کەرکووک, Parêzgeha Kerkûkê/Parêzgayi Kerkûk, tr, Kerkük ili) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an ...

. He was one of around 30 U.S.

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

soldiers who fought alongside

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

Counter-terrorism unit

peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

forces. The operation secured the release of approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of the

Iraqi Security Forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

, being held in the compound. Wheeler was directing the Kurdish attack on the prison and joined the fighting when those who had breached the compound came under fire inside. Reports stated that Wheeler ran toward the sound of the gunfire and that his actions along with those of one of his teammates ensured the success of the operation and protected those Kurdish fighters who had breached the compound. The

Kurdistan Regional Government The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ( ku, حکوومەتی هەرێمی کوردستان, ''Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan'') is the official executive body of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the m ...

asked U.S. special operations forces to support an operation to free hostages that were being held inside the prison and were going to be executed. Information had been obtained which stated the hostages faced imminent execution and it was confirmed that graves had already been prepared for the hostages outside of the compound. The Kurdish government stated after the raid that none of the 15 Kurdish fighters who were the object of the operation were found and that none of the hostages freed were Kurdish. Four Kurdish peshmerga soldiers were wounded during the operation. Five ISIS militants were detained during the operation and approximately 20 were killed. On 11 September 2020, one of his teammates, then-SFC Thomas Payne, was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

for his actions that day, becoming the first living Delta Force recipient of the Medal of Honor and the first Medal of Honor recipient for Operation Inherent Resolve.

Personal life

Wheeler lived in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

with his four sons and wife, Ashley, who had given birth in August 2015 to his fourth son. His three older sons were from a previous marriage. Wheeler was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Patriotism by the Cherokee Nation in July 2016.

Awards and decorations

At the time of his death Wheeler had been awarded the following awards and decorations, except for the Silver Star, the

and the Medal of Patriotism, which were awarded posthumously.

References

External links

Bio on USASOCArchived
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Joshua 1975 births 2015 deaths American military personnel killed in the War on Terror Cherokee Nation United States military personnel Delta Force Native American United States military personnel People from Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army Rangers United States Army soldiers War on terror