Port Angeles, Wash, USA
U.S. Army
SGT, 78th Aviation Battalion
12/14/2011, Unknown
A sergeant in the US Army, Benjamin Victor Brand was a smart, dedicated and courageous leader. He passed away when he was 23 years old.
Sergeant Benjamin Victor Brand was born on March 7, 1988 in Renton, Washington. Brand attended high school and graduated from Peninsula College in 2006 with his Associate’s Arts degree. He enlisted in the US Army at age 18 and attended a training camp in Fort Jackson, South Carolina as a Blackhawk mechanic and later on graduated as a crew chief. From April 2007 to July 2009, Brand was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
During his time at Fort Campbell, Brand was deployed to Afghanistan for twelve months. In 2009, Brand was assigned to the 78th Aviation Battalion in Camp Zama, Japan. He fell in love with a woman, Natsuko, during his Japan assignment and they later married on February 25, 2011. Brand passed away on December 14, 2011. He has received the following awards for his service, the Air Medal; Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Joint Meritorious Unit Citation; Good Conduct Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Campaign Star; Aviation Badge, Basic; and the Drivers Badge.