GLEN BURNIE, MD, USA U.S. Army SFC, COMPANY A, 3D BATTALION, 7TH SPECIAL FORCES GROUP, FORT BRAGG, NC GHUR GHURI, AFGHANISTAN 09/16/2009
Army Sergeant First Class Bradley Scott Bohle grew up in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He enjoyed camping and woodwork. He loved to watch Ultimate Fighting Championship martial arts. Friends describe him as motivated, excited and always in a happy mood.
April Bohle, his sister and an Army reservist, shared some lessons she learned from her brother. “The first thing he taught me was the catcher shouldn’t stand too close to the batter,” April joked. “He was my best friend, my comforter and he was, is and always will be my hero.”
Joe Bohle said he always looked up to his brother and “just did whatever he did. When he started playing lacrosse I was right behind him.”
He graduated from North County High School in 1998 where he played lacrosse and wrestled. He enlisted in the Army almost immediately after graduating. Classmates say it’s something he couldn’t wait to do.
He always wanted to be a Green Beret. He enlisted in the Army in 1998, around his 18th birthday. A decade later, he finally completed the Special Forces Qualification Course.
A medical sergeant, Bradley was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. Before that, he deployed twice to the Philippines.
Bradley had a wife, Elizabeth, and three daughters-Breanna, Jocelyn and Braelyn-who live in Sanford, North Carolina.
Friends and neighbors describe Bradley as a devoted father and proud soldier. Those close to Bradley say that aside from his family, there was nothing he loved more than serving his country.
Bradley died September 16, 2009, from injuries sustained with two other soldiers when their Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device while they were patrolling in Helmand province in Afghanistan.
It was his second tour of duty in Afghanistan since completing Special Forces training at Fort Bragg in March 2008. His first tour ended in December, and he returned in July.
“I didn’t worry about him as much as I should have,” said his grandmother Ethel Bohle. “But that’s the way he made us feel, like nothing was going to happen to us. He was so calm. I know he was a good soldier. We’re going to miss him very much.”
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.