In Memory of

Joshua

Cregg

Nevada

Fetter

Obituary for Joshua Cregg Nevada Fetter

Joshua Cregg Nevada Fetter (04 September 1993 – 16 December 2017) was born in Spartanburg, SC on September 04, 1993. He was an outgoing, fun-loving, kind and extraordinary young man who, following his education at JL Mann High School in Greenville, SC, made the brave and honorable choice to join the US Army as a Forward Observer. During his time in the Army, though stationed at Fort Bliss, Josh was was deployed to Djibouti, Africa at Ft. Lemmonier, seeing missions against Boko Haram and Isis in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Somalia and Kenya, as well as combat in Syria. His bravery helped to protect and save the lives of many of his comrades, yet he also mourned the loss of many fallen friends and brothers.

Little known was the fact that even while in active combat, Josh showed more than just bravery, intelligence and loyalty to his own. He showed many acts of kindness, some that will never be known, to those who were in need, even if they happened to be technically considered as “the enemy.” One situation was the time when Josh was on active duty in enemy territory, where he met a Muslim woman who had, for reasons unknown, been cast out of her village. Alone, invisible and with no known friends or family, she was visible to Josh. He gave up his daily food rations, in spite of needing the nourishment himself, to feed this woman who had been cast into the streets and discarded by her own people. He further held off her detractors at gunpoint, warning them that he would shoot anyone who took away the food, mistreated her in any way or prevented her from coming back daily to receive the meals he so willingly gave up to sustain her. It didn’t matter that she was a stranger or that she came from people on the opposite side of the enemy lines. Where others saw an enemy or an outcast, Joshua saw a human in need. He protected her and checked on her every day, never asking for a word of thanks or recognition. He never received anything more than the knowledge that one poor fellow human was suffering a bit less because he chose to feed her when she was hungry.

In spite of the terrible things that Josh endured during his service, he was honorably discharged and received no assistance from the military for the PTSD that his terrible experiences caused, nor did he complain or burden anyone else with his own inner pain and devastating memories. He tried to live his life every day to the best of his ability, asking for nothing and reaching out to others in need, trying to save lives of other soldiers with PTSD, while his own pain destroyed him. Sadly, Josh lost his battle with PTSD in the early morning hours of December 16, 2017, when he drove away from his home for the last time. The world lost a beautiful soul and a true hero that morning.

Josh was well known for his amazing talent with graphic media and photography and willingly volunteered his time, talents, money and efforts for many charitable events, particularly those that benefited needy children and other military vets. He was an active member of many airsoft events, as well as being actively involved in several Mustang car clubs. To know Josh was to love him; he was known for being able to walk right up to a perfect stranger and find common ground and offer a smile or a laugh.

He left behind a family that loved him deeply, including his father, Cregg Fetter, his mother, Christine Allman Fetter and step-mother, Constance Fetter, as well as his future fiancée, Katie Seay and his “second family” Cody, Wes and Carol Cadwallader. Josh also left behind a sister, Sarah, aunts, uncles and cousins on both coasts who will miss him incredibly, and too many wonderful friends and family members to list, who loved him for his amazing personality, unwavering kindness and incredible sense of humor. Josh was a hard worker, a deep thinker, a brave young man and a fierce, fierce friend. We now endeavor to honor his memory and hope that the good works that he tried to do during his lifetime are carried forward in the hearts of everyone who loved him. His life was too short but we can all be grateful for whatever time we had with this amazing person. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Godspeed and farewell, Joshua. You will be missed more than you will ever know.

A Celebration of Life will be Jan 27 at 1:00 pm at Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, CA.

In lieu of flowers, any contribution to help establish Joshua’s foundation “Joshua’s Tree of Hope”, which is being established to help other veterans suffering from PTSD, would be sincerely appreciated. https://www.facebook.com/Joshuastreeofhope/