GRAND PRAIRIE, TX, USA U.S. Army SSG, HHT, 2D SQUADRON, 8TH CAVALRY, 1 BCT, FORT HOOD, TX TAJI, IRAQ 12/18/2006
Born October 25, 1972 in Houston, Brian Lee Mintzlaff was a loving husband, father, and son. He joined the U.S. Army immediately after 9/11/2001.
He is survived by his wife, Jocelyn Mintzlaff; daughter Braelyn Mintzlaff, father, Charles H. Mintzlaff; sisters Victoria and Tonie; and father and mother in law Jeff and Terri Range.
Jocelyn Mintzlaff looks like a lot of other 27-year-old women. But what you don’t see is the tragedy she’s already had to endure.
Jocelyn became a widow almost two years ago, something she says she never expected to experience. “This was his 3rd tour in Iraq and he had come home safely the first two times and I never once considered it,” she explained. “We had talked about it for practical matters, but I never once considered that I would be a widow.”
Jocelyn married Army Staff Sergeant Brian Mintzlaff in early 2006. They were married only a few months before he was deployed. In that short time, though, Jocelyn says her husband became her world. “He was my best friend, and he was somebody that I could tell anything to.”
Two months after Brian left for Iraq, Jocelyn received a phone call from the Fort Hood Casualty Office informing her that he had died. “I knew then, but on one hand I didn’t believe it either,” she recalls.
Twelve days after that phone call Jocelyn laid her best friend, her husband, to rest. “Not only did his life end that day, but our entire future ended.”
From one of his soldiers – Justin White
“It’s been over 2 years now. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about Brian. He taught me everything I knew in the army. He was one heck of a person. I spent over 2 years under his leadership, and he guided me every step of the way. All I can say is, RIP brother. You will never be forgotten. Until we meet again.”