Joshua J. Kynoch, Army, Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Joshua J. Kynoch, 23

Army, Corporal
Based: Ft. Stewart, Ga.
2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 1, 2005
Baiji (near), Iraq
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Santa Rosa
High School: Casa Grande High (Petaluma)
Burial: Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Joshua Kynoch sat before the television, transfixed and angry, as terrorists attacked the United States in 2001. Days later he and a childhood friend enlisted in the Army as infantrymen, asking to be sent to the front lines of the war on terror.


That impulse at age 19 led the Santa Rosa native to two tours of Iraq, where his unit patrolled in the dangerous Sunni Triangle.


Ryan Siliznoff, who joined the military with Kynoch, said the last time he talked to his buddy, he warned Kynoch to watch out for the improvised explosive devices that litter the roads in Iraq.


Kynoch, typically blase about danger, downplayed the risk, saying his unit had not yet seen any roadside bombs.

"It was weird," said Siliznoff, who received a medical discharge and is no longer in the service. "Of all things, we ended up talking about IEDs. I knew there was a big danger of them. Then, two days later, I got the news."

Kynoch, 23, was killed Oct. 1 when the Bradley fighting vehicle he was driving struck an explosive device while part of an Army convoy near Bayji, Iraq.

His unit was 13 weeks from rotating back to the United States.

"He was a great kid. There wasn't a mean bone in his body," said Dan Siliznoff, who, along with his son Ryan, used to drink beer and play pool with Kynoch. "I loved the kid almost like a second son. I tried to talk him out of going back after his first tour. There was nothing I could say that would convince him. Once he made up his mind to do something, he was going to do it. It was something he felt he had to do."

Kynoch is survived by his wife, Sarah, and their 6-month-old daughter, Savannah. He also is survived by his parents, Paul and Linda Kynoch; a brother, Matthew; and sisters Amy and Michelle. He was buried with military honors Friday at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Santa Rosa.

Read the whole LA Times article about Army Corporal Joshua J. Kynoch here and read more here and here, among other stories found online. And visit Corporal Kynoch's Guest Book here.

June 12, 2008
Son- Not a second goes by that I am not thinking of you. You will forever be in my soul. I miss you so intensly. We are now moving toward 3 years and just this morning I still feel you coming home. Josh I hate this!!! Please come home!!!
~ Mom, Santa Rosa, California

Joshua Kynoch with his newborn baby, Savannah.