Point Blank soldier dies in IED blast
Polk County Enterprise, October 2007

WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Department of Defense announced Tuesday the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, one of the fallen soldiers was Sgt. Joseph B. Milledge, 23, of Point Blank, Texas.
They died Oct. 5 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit during combat operations. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, in Vilseck, Germany. Spc. Jason N. Marchand, 26, of Greenwood, W. Va. was also killed in the incident.
Milledge joined the Army in 2002 at a recruiting station in Huntsville.
“He spent one year in Iraq, got married, had a son and then returned to Iraq for 18 more months,” said his father Jack of Point Blank. “He was killed less than a month after returning to duty there.”
Joseph was home in Point Blank during July for a visit, his father recalls.
“He couldn’t wait to get back and get his troops in shape,” Jack said. “He was a squad leader.”
Joseph is survived by his wife, Amanda and baby son Joseph Ryan Milledge, Jr., both of Washington and his father and stepmother, Penny, of Point Blank, six brothers and two sisters.
Funeral arrangements are pending. “Services will be held in Washington,” he said.