MULDROW (KFSM) -- A memorial service was held Tuesday (Nov. 24) for a local fallen soldier.
Family and friends gathered at Trinity United Methodist Church in Muldrow at 10 a.m. to remember the life and legacy that Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler left behind.
Wheeler, who lived in Roland, was killed in October during a rescue mission in Iraq to free 70 prisoners, when they were about to be executed. Wheeler was the first American soldier to be killed by the terror group ISIS.
"He was a protector. He looked out for everyone. That just was the way he was," said Wheeler's cousin Adam Cole. "Joining the Army and being a soldier, it couldn't have been more natural for him. I couldn't be more proud."
According to the pastor of Trinity Church where the memorial was held, there was a heightened police presence.
"We heard that there was a local person that made threats of making national news in Sequoyah County and this was a target or an expected opportunity for them to make national news," said Trinity pastor Craig Clark. "We had a huge police presence but very comforting to have them here."
One week after he passed away, the community came together in his hometown of Roland where a monument now stands with his name engraved in the stone.
Wheeler joined the U.S. Army in 1995 after graduating from Muldrow High School the year before. He was deployed fourteen times to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Master Sgt. Wheeler earned 11 bronze stars and many other commendations.
Wheeler was buried at Arlington National Cemetery last week, but now family and friends are remembering his time at home where it all began.
Master Sgt. Wheeler is survived by his wife and fours sons, as well as his grandparents and five siblings.
