Joshua Jamal O'Bannon
“O’Bannon died early yesterday at Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he was taken Sunday afternoon by a Delaware County EMS squad after he collapsed with severe dehydration during a training exercise.
The A Company recruit was among 145 soldiers competing in the Ohio Army National Guard’s first Warrior Challenge, a nearly 2-mile obstacle course at Camp Lazarus in Delaware.
He collapsed near the finish line, and his teammates helped him across the line before medics took over, said Ohio National Guard spokesman James Sims. An autopsy is scheduled for today, Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis said.
O’Bannon is the first soldier the Ohio Army National Guard has lost since beginning its Recruit Sustainment Program in 2006, Sims said. The program provides pre-basic-training to young recruits.
O’Bannon was severely dehydrated, his oxygen low and his blood pressure high, and eventually doctors told the family he was brain dead, said his cousin, Chad Woodfork, 23, of Columbus.” – Article 1
“An enlarged heart and other factors led to the death of an Ohio Army National Guard recruit who collapsed during training.
Joshua J. O’Bannon, 23, of Columbus, died early Monday after collapsing near the completion of a 2-mile obstacle course at Camp Lazarus in Delaware on Sunday afternoon.
O’Bannon died from a number of conditions that deprived his body of oxygen, Dr. Brad Lewis, Franklin County coroner, said yesterday.
An autopsy found he suffered from an enlarged heart, sickle cell trait and dehydration brought on by physical stress, Lewis said.
Sickle cell trait can hamper the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body, the coroner said.” – Article 2
- Editors Note: Joshua was posthumously promoted to the rank of Specialist (E-4) as of April 29, 2008