LAKE CHARLES, LA, USA U.S. Army PFC, HHC, 2D BATTALION, 6TH INFANTRY, 2 BCT, BAUMHOLDER, GERMANY BALAD, IRAQ 06/23/2008
He was a great kid…” “He was a respectful kid and all of his teachers loved him….” “Oh he was a real good kid.. a real tough kid…”
“We nicknamed him ‘Cheetah’ because he was so fast…” said his high school football coach, James Kelly.
“He joined the Army without telling anyone,” said family Hosea Gradney. “Brian told me he didn’t want anyone to talk him out of it. That’s the type of kid he was.”
Bryan joined the Army during his junior year of high school, completed his basic training the summer before he graduated and entered the Army after getting his diploma in 2006.
Bryan was killed by small arms fire on June 23rd 2008 in Baghdad from wounds suffered in Salman Pak, Iraq. He was 22 years old.
“Bryan knows he was loved” said Diana Thomas, his mother. Brian is also survived by his 13-month old daughter, Brenasia.