MOUNT JOY, Pa. — Joshua Bishop had finally found peace and happiness in his life.
The Donegal High School graduate, living in Mount Joy, Lancaster County with his wife, three kids, mom, and dad, struggled for years with anxiety issues, the result of 10 years service in the United States Army which included two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
When Bishop left the Army, he fought to get nearly $30,000 of unpaid retirement money he was owed, and never received. Bishop's family's quest to get that money was the subject of a FOX43 investigation in 2017.
Bishop was never paid those benefits, but the IRS informed him they'd no longer be seeking unpaid tax collection on money he never received. On the morning of May 15, Josh got a text from his wife Phyllicia that his credit score had gone up.
"He was really proud that he was 'adulting'," Phyllicia said. "He was ready to move on. He had put all the Army stuff behind him. He wanted to go back to school, start his own business."
Josh was five months into a job he finally loved. He was doing traffic control for Wright Construction in West Manchester Township, York County the morning he got the text from his wife. He was unloading cones out of his trunk along Carlisle Avenue when a Ford Edge came down the road. He never saw it coming.
The SUV rammed into Josh, his back turned, pinning him between the Ford and his van. He died instantly. West Manchester Township Police are still investigating the incident.
"The last thing my son saw was the seat of a van, and I don't want people to remember him like that," said Joshua's mother, Sandy Pittenturf. "He lived through three deployments. He needs to be remembered as the warrior he was, the loving father he was, the loving husband he was."
For Memorial Day, Josh's family adorned the front lawn of their Mount Joy home with 34 American flags to represent Josh's age. There will be a ceremonial "drive-by" memorial outside the house starting at 2:30 p.m.
Patriotism has always run deep in the Bishops. Phyllicia's side of the family has multiple veterans, and Sandy remembers going to Memorial Day parades as a child.
"[This Memorial Day] will mean a little more because it hits closer to home," Phyllicia admitted. "And I think that’s perfect that we can, possibly every year, celebrate [Josh] just a little bit more on this day."