American Legion Post Renamed For West View Native

in Laurel Gardens now bears the name of West View native and graduate Joseph D. Caskey. 

In a somber and emotional Memorial Day ceremony, the post on Sixth Avenue was renamed in honor of the 24-year-old marine sergeant killed on June 26, 2010 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. 

“Ah it’s so wonderful, I want to come by here everyday, and just look at him,” said Caskey’s mother, Debra, after the ceremony. 

All three of her sons entered the military, following a family tradition of service. 

“Joe followed his brothers into the military, he followed his mother and father who were both army veterans,” said Caskey’s brother Jeremy, an Air Force Tech Sergeant. “ He followed his grandfather who was army and World War II, and then his great grandfather who was army and World War I.” 

Caskey’s other brother, Joshua, retired from the Marines after suffering a brain injury from in a suicide bombing in Iraq. 

"Joe is my little brother. He's a true hero to myself and a lot of people around here," Joshua Caskey said. "Every time I drive by, it's going to say 'Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey American Legion Post 80,' and that's -- to see our last name up there, it's a privilege and an honor."

Joshua admitted he feared for his brother’s safety, especially when he signed up for a second tour of duty. "I worried every single night he was over there. I cried," he said. "And as embarrassing as it is, I sobbed some nights knowing from my experience overseas that he may not come home, and it killed me." 

Several of Joseph Caskey’s former commanders also took part in the ceremony. 

“He was the biggest brother in our platoon. They called him the German giant, all kinds of legends are told about him now, he could throw a football a quarter mile, best looking man in the world, you could have asked him, he would have told you that,” said Captain William Pendergast, USMC. “His magnetism compelled others to follow him, naturally, and his strength inspired others to make themselves strong.”

“Joseph Caskey represented, what I consider, a microcosm of America,” said Sergeant Major Scott Samuels, USMC. “I really didn’t realize what Sergeant Caskey meant to his men, until I saw them a few days after his death. He really meant a lot to everybody, and you don’t really realize that, and you don’t say it until it’s too late. Until he’s already gone and that’s kinda how I feel today.” 

“He’s what’s today is truly all about, he is my hero,” Scott Palermo, Post 80 Adjutant. 

"This really pulls the old heartstrings. You can't hold back the tears when you see something like that," said Caskey’s father, Rev. Gerald Caskey of the ceremony. 

Everyone who spoke honored not only Sergeant Caskey, but also all of the men and women who continue to serve. 

“But when we ask the question, is the sacrifice worth it? Well there is no answer to that question. There’s not getting back Joe Caskey, and all the Joe Caskeys that came before him and will come after him, said Sergeant Samuels. 

“But freedom isn’t free and guys like Joseph Caskey, going where they went, and what they did, are helping an Afghan people live in what we may not consider free, but what they consider free. They’re charge of their own free will, and that’s because of people like Sergeant Joseph Caskey.”

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