Friends remember former Jackson resident, veteran killed in accident

~ Joshua M. McHugh, 22, had returned from combat duty in Iraq last month.

A 22-year-old House Springs, Mo., man who died in a single-car accident Saturday was a former Jackson resident who served with the National Guard in Iraq.

Joshua M. McHugh, 22, died at Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., after his vehicle overturned on Interstate 55 about a half mile north of Route J.

McHugh attended Jackson High School and was attending Vatterott College in Sunset Hills, Mo., where longtime friend Aaron Wilson said he was studying to become an electrician.

Both were specialists in the 1140th Engineer Battalion with the National Guard, attached to the 110th Engineer Battalion for service in Iraq from November 2005 to last month, Wilson said.

"He was the best friend you could have," the Cape Girardeau resident said.

The two met in third grade and became fast friends. They enjoyed camping, Wilson said, and McHugh enjoyed sports and loved football.

"He never met a stranger," Wilson said. "He never met an enemy. He lived every day to the fullest."

Wilson said they looked for roadside bombs as part of their duty in Iraq.

Sgt. Stacy Langston of Jackson met McHugh when they were deployed to Iraq in 2005. "We were in the same platoon," Langston said, noting that McHugh had survived several combat missions during their deployment.

Both Langston and Wilson saw McHugh the day before the accident.