Joey was charming, warm and always smiling, his family says. He possessed an inexhaustible energy and enthusiasm for life. He put his full effort into whatever he decided to do.
After college, he entered the service and arrived at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in October 2012. In January 2014, he was deployed to Afghanistan as a paratrooper, where he found his calling and his second family in the military, his parents and sister say.
On Nov. 24, 2014, three days before he was scheduled to travel stateside, Riley was killed in Kabul when his vehicle was attacked by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
Lt. Col. Matthew Konz, Riley’s battalion commander, made a statement at the time of his passing: “Spc. Riley was a superb paratrooper who I will remember as having an infectious positive attitude. He was able to lift the spirits of those around him, even in the worst conditions. I am humbled to have had the opportunity to know and serve with him.”
When the Grove City native was transported back home, citizens lined the street to greet his motorcade and attend his funeral service at First Baptist Church of Grove City.
“The people of Grove City were wonderful and they turned out in hundreds,” says Michelle Riley, Joey’s mother. “It was really comforting because Joey really was such a part of our community.”
Joey grew up in Grove City and attended its schools. He was “up for anything” and “always enthusiastic” growing up, Michelle says.
“He always struggled a little bit in school,” she says. “But he always compensated because he was a pretty smart kid. He just wasn’t always performing that way because of some learning challenges, the way he learned.”
“For Joey, he loved life more than he loved himself,” says Rodney Riley, Joey’s dad.
Joey played baseball and football. He and his older brother, Justin, both wore number 22 on their jerseys as a tribute to legendary Dallas Cowboys (and, later, Arizona Cardinals) running back Emmitt Smith.
Now, Michelle always notices the number 22 when it comes up.
“It seems random, but I always feel like it’s just a message letting us know that he’s kind of watching over us and he’s OK,” she says. “It gives me a lot of comfort.”
Joey worked for the Grove City Public Service Department during summers as well as post-college as part of the forestry department before enlisting.
Often running late, Michelle says, Joey would take his breakfast to go – grabbing a whole box of cereal and eating a bowl at work before heading out on the job. A memorial for Joey in the public service department includes a cereal box for this very reason.
Joey attended college and played football at Ohio Wesleyan University for two years before transferring to Capital University.
After his death, Capital awarded him a posthumous degree – he never officially graduated due to an outstanding math course – that his parents received on stage.
“That was a really profound moment for me because that was a goal that I had for all of my kids,” Michelle says. “His dad and I didn’t get to go to college, so it really meant a lot for us to get to do that in his honor, in his memory.”
“We tell a lot of people stories about how things went with Joey and he didn’t always have it easy, and sometimes he struggled and sometimes he didn’t make the right choices,” says Cortney, Joey’s older sister. “But he always seemed to pick himself up and put that same enthusiasm into making it right.”
Joey excelled in the service and was eventually sent to sniper school, despite limited interactions with firearms in his civilian life. His goal was to work his way up through infantry ranks and to become a Ranger. Shortly before he was killed, he found out he would be going to Ranger School the following January.
“I really think, because he was struggling so much, he had just found his calling when he went (into the service), and I think he would have made it a career,” says Michelle.
Because of the timing of his death, most of his fellow service members were already back stateside for Thanksgiving, and they turned out in above-average numbers to send off their brother in arms. In fact, they were bused to Grove City for the service.
Joey was laid to rest in Concord Cemetery. The family was allowed to fly a full-size flag next to his grave.
“My request every year in November – when I talk to people, or people are at the cemetery, or
I’m on social media – is that they really mean it when they say you’re not forgotten until somebody speaks your name for the last time,” Cortney says. “So I’m always encouraging people to tell their kids stories about Joey.”
“For Gold Star families – especially parents, probably especially mothers – the idea that people remember is very comforting, because you don’t want your child to be forgotten,” Michelle says.
Joey has been honored and memorialized in and around Grove City.
- In 2015, the Ohio Department of Transportation dedicated a section of Interstate 71 to Joey. The portion between state Route 665 and U.S. Route 62 is known as the Army Specialist Joseph “Joey” Riley Memorial Highway.
- Grove City is home to Ohio’s Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at Broadway and Columbus Street, part of the 50-state project from the Woody Williams Foundation. The monument was dedicated in May 2016.
- The U.S. Postal Service facility on Stringtown Road in Grove City is named Specialist Joseph W. Riley Grove City Post Office in Joey’s honor.
- Grove City is a Purple Heart City, and each year, the Purple Heart Memorial Walk takes place in Henceroth Park on Purple Heart Day in August.
“Grove City has been and continues to be wonderful and supportive in many, many ways,” Michelle says.
Joey has also been memorialized in Central America. The family asked that any donations in Joey’s name be made to a feeding clinic in Nicaragua that Michelle had previously visited on a mission trip. The clinic received so many donations, it was able to buy a building to house the clinic, and a bronze plaque was erected in Joey’s honor.
On the anniversary of his death each year, the family typically receives letters from people across the country, many who are strangers, sending their condolences and thanks.
Two of his squad members drive from their New York City jobs as a firefighter and police officer each year to spend time with Michelle, just hoping to make her smile.
Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, the highest-ranking officer in Afghanistan at the time of Joey’s death, told the family he elected to take Joey with him when he went out in Kabul because he made him feel like home.
“To have somebody tell you that Joey made it feel like home when they’re in a war in Afghanistan says a lot about my brother and how he maintained his sense of humor and who he was,” Cortney says. “We were floored and proud to hear that about him.”
During and after his service, Joey was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National
Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO medal, Combat Infantryman Badge and Basic Parachutist Badge.
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
