Rineyville native killed in Iraq

By JOHN FRIEDLEIN

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JOSHUA L. PLOCICA CORBIN

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jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com

A Rineyville native died Wednesday while on patrol in Baghdad.

Spc. Joshua L. Plocica Corbin, 20, was killed after his Humvee encountered an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense and a relative.

Corbin was part of the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division of Fort Hood, Texas.

Three soldiers inside the vehicle were wounded, said Corbin’s aunt, Melissa Hardin, of Elizabethtown. Corbin, of Clarksville, Tenn., died of head injuries.

“He was a gentle soul,” Hardin said. And people who met him immediately liked him.

Corbin’s grandfather retired from the armed services and his uncle is active duty military.

“He knew what it meant and how important it is to fight for freedom,” Hardin said. “These young men and women go in there and they know what they’re fighting for.”

She urged others to support the troops and their families.

A memorial service for Corbin will be held an unspecified date in Elizabethtown.

When he was a student at Rossview High School in Clarksville, he and an art teacher projected his image onto a wall next to a classroom and then painted his portrait, according to The Leaf Chronicle in Clarksville. This artwork will be made into a memorial.

John Friedlein can be reached at (270) 505-1746.