From Gausman,

......Where do I start??? I first met Joe when I took my recruiting trip to USC. I might not have been USC’s favorite recruit because I wouldn’t shut up about my car (for those of you who can remember), but Joe made me feel like I was apart of the team, he made me feel like I was the #1 recruit in the nation. I think when he heard that I had signed with USC he probably rolled his eyes and said “oh no, that guy who wouldn’t shut up about his car is coming to USC.” When I arrived, Joe had accepted me for who I was and we instantly became friends. Even though I wasn’t your typical/model swimmer, meaning, waking up for “mandatory” morning workouts, not burning the candle at both ends…….lets just say I was no angel, and Joe was always there for me, always stood up for me and always tried his hardest to make me a better person. Even though he was younger then me, I looked to him as an older brother that always had my best interests in mind.

I had the pleasure of living with Joe for 2 years, I wish I could remember each an everyday we spent together, but that would be near impossible. One of the things I do remember is his love for his dog Bishop……………………Bishop……..everybody who knew Joe in college also knew his dog Bishop. That damn dog (granted I’d loved him), but he would always push my/everybody’s buttons. When he would do something wrong and know it, he would just look at you like……WHAT, what are you going to do. There was something about Joe in which he had a special and unique connection with everybody he came in contact with, even that dog. Joe could be 3 blocks away from the house on his way home and Bishop would jump up off the couch (which he wasn’t suppose to be on, he didn’t care) and start running around crazy. We all would look at each other and say “Joe must be close,” and sure enough Joe would come walking through the door. The smile on Joe’s face and the overwhelming happiness he felt when he saw “that dog” was similar to how he felt when he found out he was going to be a Green Beret.

In a sense I feel ashamed that I didn’t keep in contact with Joe more then I did. I would email him about once every month and a half. I did get to talk to him for about 45mins sometime in July and the great thing about it was we picked up where we left off. I told him all about my (single) life in Chicago, my business, my travels, etc. He updated me with everything that was going on in his life. He told me he was so happy doing what he was doing and that he finally has a path in life, a meaning. At the end of our conversation he said “Gausman, I’m so glad some things never change!” We had some great laughs, I told him that even though we don’t talk as much as we should I still love him and think about him all the time. He told me he couldn’t wait to come home in a couple months and it would be great if I could make it out to LA. Well I’m coming to LA to see you Joe, I just wish it were under different circumstances. I love you man.

Living with Joe (and his DOG) my “second” senior year was great, but I hated to see Joe as unhappy as he was. It was Erik, Joe and I. I remember Joe getting up every morning putting on those slacks and collared shirt, preparing himself for a long day in a cubical. Joe in a CUBICAL…..I know it crazy, he freaking hated it. I felt bad because I was enjoying my last year of college and Joe was sitting in a cubical. We talked all the time about how he didn’t know what he was doing with his life and how much he hated his job. Every time I came home from class or from Campus he was glued to the TV watching CNN or other news stations absorbing every piece of information on the war. I always gave him a hard time and started calling him Dad because he would 1. Listen to AM talk radio 2. Watch the news when he got home from work and 3. Look out for me. He was very into what was happening overseas and was determined to become a Navy Seal. Erik and I where there for him when he found out he would never be a Navy Seal because of his back. That was the saddest that I have ever seen him, but he didn’t give up, he was more determined then ever. Then, like Erik said it was the happiest day of his life when he found out he was going to be a Green Beret. Joe wasn’t made for a cubical, he wasn’t put here on this planet to headhunt or pencil push, he was put here to protect us and fight for our country and what he believed in. Joe had the biggest heart of anybody I know and helping those people and protecting those children in the Philippines completed Joe…….(actually Athena, you completed Joe, but you know what I mean) What I’m trying to say is Joe had found his destiny and he passed doing what he loved, for that I honor him even more.

Joe buddy, I miss you, I love you and I wish that I could have one more of those gorilla hugs you are so well known for. My heart goes out to all friends and family.