WESTVILLE, Ind. (STMW) — The town was coping this weekend with the loss of one of its own. On Main Street, the Blackhawk Inn was a place to reminisce over beers about Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Birchfield, 24, of Westville, who was killed Friday in Afghanistan.
Jonn Elkin, 49, remembered Birchfield on Saturday as “an awesome human being” who was “a lot of fun.”
A sign reading “We Will Miss You Birch — God Bless” hung outside the Blackhawk, which Birchfield had visited in the past.
“He went and fought for our country,” Elkin, a Westville resident, said. “He wanted to be a Marine.”
Mike Siddall of Westville recalled Birchfield’s generous side.
“He’s a good ol’ country boy — take the shirt right off his back for you,” said Siddall, who fought back tears. “He will never be forgotten.”
Rick Gillespie of Chesterton painted the 2004 graduate of Westville High School as an unassuming young man.
“He was down to earth,” Gillespie said at the Blackhawk Inn. “He just did good for our country. He died for our country.”
Across the street from the Blackhawk, Steve Bachman of Michigan City recalled his “very personable” buddy while socializing at Karla’s Pub & Grill.
“He was funny — funniest guy I ever met in my life,” Bachman, 33, said. “He should have been a stand-up comedian.”
Calling Birchfield the “best guy I ever met,” Bachman said his pal entered military service for the right reasons.
“He didn’t go because he didn’t have a job. … He went because he felt it was the right thing to do,” Bachman said.
A canister for monetary donations for the Birchfield family was placed in the Blackhawk bar.
At the Westville American Legion Post 21, a sign read “LCPL JOSH BIRCHFIELD YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN — WE LOVE YOU.”
Those who knew Birchfield remembered him as a baseball fan from LaPorte County who was approachable and likable, and “just knew everybody.”
Details as to how Birchfield died in Afghanistan were not available.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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