Joshua was born on November 25, 1986 in Euclid, Ohio to Donna and Richard Harmon. He grew up in Mentor-on-the-Lake with his older brother Jason Kriz and quickly became known as the boy with the big, beautiful grin, huge heart, and a zest for life. He could walk into a room of fifty people he did not know and leave with fifty friends. Joshua attended Mentor High School where he spent most of his time hanging out with his friends, working on cars, and playing his guitar.
After graduating in 2005, Joshua enlisted in the United States Army and was sent to boot camp at Fort Benning, Georgia. After completing boot camp he went to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas where he completed his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) to become a combat medic. Originally, Josh had the desire to become a Military Police Officer but, due to his “color deficiency” as he so adamantly called it, he was unable to do so and was in turn lead down the medic path that he soon became so passionate about.
After completing AIT Joshua was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii where he spent his time sharpening his medic skills, working in the aid station, and taking in all the island had to offer. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Kristin. Joshua was deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq with the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry “Cacti” in August 2006. It was at the beginning of this deployment that he was attached to the Scout Platoon as their only medic. One of Joshua’s most notable accomplishments happened a little more than halfway through his time in Iraq.
On May 3, 2007, while on patrol in the city, Joshua’s friend Freddy Meyers was hit in the head by a sniper’s bullet. Immediately, Joshua sprung into action, putting all of his medical training and studying into practice and, because of his ability to work so quickly under such dangerous and unstable conditions, Freddy is alive and doing well today. It was for this that Joshua earned the Army Commendation Medal with Valor. While in Iraq, Joshua also earned the Combat Medic Badge. He was proud of his position as medic and often referred to his fellow soldiers as “his guys.” He had ambitions of going to medical school once his responsibility to the Army was completed and had a great desire to continue helping others. He spent much of his “down time” while overseas studying medical books and preparing for the MCATs.
Joshua was also looking forward to getting back to Hawaii and starting his life with his new wife, whom he married by proxy on May 10, 2007; however, on August 22, 2007 his life was tragically taken, along with 13 others, while returning from a mission when his Blackhawk helicopter crashed due to mechanical failure. Joshua was laid to rest on August 31, 2007 in Mentor Municipal Cemetery with full military honors and lays head to head with his close friend Cpl Jayme R. Vines. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Good Conduct Medal and was later awarded the Hawaii Medal of Honor by the Hawaii State Legislature. Joshua made an impact on everyone he met and will never be forgotten, for his memory lives on in the hearts of his family, his close friends, and anyone who had the chance to know him.
