A post office in western Illinois may be named in honor of a soldier killed in 2007 in Afghanistan. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos introduced legislation on Wednesday to name the post office in Alpha the ``Captain Joshua E. Steele Post Office. ``
Steele, who was raised on his family's farm in North Henderson, joined the army and was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2007. He was killed at the age of 26, six months later, by a roadside bomb while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart posthumously.
In 2002, Steele graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla and later that year was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Prior to his deployment to Afghanistan, he served in Iraq and the Republic of Georgia.