Honor your hero with thoughts, memories, images and stories.
SSG Justin Whiting, was an adventurer - an avid bow hunter, rifleman, trapper, a fisherman, and a skilled woodsman. He was a self-taught musician who could light up a room with his guitar and beautiful baritone voice. Justin’s bright red hair, his ability to tell a tall tale with quick wit, and his old man sarcasm endeared him to everyone he met. For Justin’s immediate family, he was a devoted son and a loyal brother.
Justin’s military command said that with his tremendous personality and intellect, Justin could have succeeded at anything in the world. He chose to be a soldier; to serve America with dignity and pride and to apply the simple values of hard work, dedication and patriotism, to earn the respect and admiration of everyone who knew him.
Justin chose the most difficult path he could pursue in the Army, becoming a Special Forces Green Beret, a combat medic. He was the Medical Sergeant assigned to 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 3rd Battalion,Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Justin served bravely, on numerous occasions putting his own life in danger to provide medical attention to American soldiers and Iraqis in need. The day before he died, while on a combat patrol in the desert, he ran through an unclear mine field to save the lives of Iraqi Special Operations Commandos whose vehicle had overturned. Justin not only assisted in pulling the vehicle off the trapped soldiers, but his heroic actions and medical skill sustained the soldiers until they were evacuated by helicopter. After Justin’s death, the commanders of the Iraqi Special Operations Battalion in Mosul asked to dedicate a memorial in Justin’s honor.
On January 19, 2008, while on his third tour in Iraq, leading a convoy in Al Azaba, he was killed instantly when his vehicle hit an IED. His last moments were spent in laughter and camaraderie, as most times with Justin were, and he died among his closest friends. He was killed serving a country that he loved; whose ideals and freedoms he held dear – a true American patriot. Justin’s younger brother, Nathan, who had deployed to Iraq with him, had the unthinkable task of escorting his brother home to their family.Justin is survived by a family that loves him and with hearts that are forever broken.
“De Oppresso Liber”