A Marion County soldier died of an accidental gunshot wound the night before his unit was to receive honors for its Iraq deployment.
Spc. Joshua Meeks, 21, died of a gunshot wound to the head inflicted while he was cleaning a weapon in his Whitwell home, family said.
Meeks had returned with his Tennessee Army National Guard unit, the 252nd Military Police Company, from a 10-month deployment to Iraq where he served as a vehicle gunner.
The unit, headquartered in Cleveland, Tenn., deployed to Iraq from September 2009 to July 2010. There were no casualties during the deployment, Meeks is the first soldier from the unit to die, said 1st Sgt. Michael Plemons.
At Westwood Baptist Church in Cleveland this afternoon the 170-soldier unit conducted its “Freedom Salute” a Guard program to recognize and honor soldiers following deployment.