From Jay Sayko,

One of the things I most enjoyed doing with Joe was arguing. That may sound a little odd, but there was nothing like really getting into it with him. We got a little heated sometimes, whether it was about something like European history, the latest bill introduced in Congress, or some newspaper article that one of us had read. He was a great person to argue with for two main reasons: first, he was really, really stubborn. I usually consider myself pretty stubborn, but Joe took it to a whole new level. He would never back down, and it made for great fun. Second, Joe was a fantastic listener. No matter how riled up he got, he would always stop and do his best to understand exactly what you were saying. I always appreciated that. In fact, he was a great listener all the time, not just when he was arguing. When Joe asked you how you were doing, he didn’t just space out while you told him, he really listened and really cared about your answer.

Joe was also one of the most honest people I’ve ever met. I’m not talking about whether he would lie when you asked him a question like, “Did you draw on me while I was sleeping last night?” I’m talking about being a straight shooter. If I felt lost and wanted Joe’s opinion on something important, I could count on him telling me what he really thought. To some he might have come off as brash, but I loved that about him. He was unapologetic, and I never felt like I had to make any pretenses around him.

Joe inspired confidence in me. I would often see him when he drove up from Ft. Bragg to DC for a night or two, and he would usually have just completed some ridiculously difficult training. He would say a sentence or two about it and then ask me 25 questions about law school (which I can assure you is not as interesting a topic). He really had nothing to prove around his friends. Just by knowing Joe I knew that he was good at what he did; he certainly didn’t have to explain it to me.

I also loved it when Joe would talk about Athena. I remember he was visiting me in DC once, and we started talking about Athena. For some reason he didn’t have a picture of her, but he had her old USC student ID. Pretty soon, he was showing it to people, saying “Isn’t she beautiful?” We all know that Athena is beautiful, but it was pretty funny to see him walking around holding a student ID with a half inch photo that was badly scratched. People couldn’t help but agree with Joe because he was so earnest. It was really one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.

As everyone has said, Joe was intelligent, funny, loyal, and boy did he give great hugs. We always talked about the many things we were going to do together some day, and it’s really difficult to think of not being able to go through those experiences with Joe at my side. Still, I’m pretty sure I know what Joe would tell me to do. He would tell me with absolute honesty and conviction that I should live my life to the fullest, just as he did.

I love you buddy

Jay