JOPLIN, MO, USA U.S. Army SSG, 935TH AVIATION SUPPORT BATTALION, JEFFERSON CITY, MO BAGHDAD, IRAQ 05/21/2009
Staff Sergeant Paul Faris Brooks, 35, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, attended Jonesboro High School and obtained a GED while in the military. Known as ‘P.F.’ by family and friends, he began his military service with the Arkansas National Guard in 1997. He also served in the Army Reserves joined the Missouri National Guard in July 2004.
Paul did this all in hopes to provide a better life for his wife and seven children. Just two years before, his newborn son, Denver, needed a lifesaving surgery to fix a hole in his heart. The Missouri Veterans Commission formed “Operation Baby’s Heart” to collect donations and help pay for costs associated with the surgery. Denver made a full recovery.
He was assigned to the 935th Aviation Support Battalion Springfield, Missouri as an Army medic. Brooks and his family were stationed out of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The soft-spoken family man and his wife were devoted parents. He was currently serving his second tour in Iraq. He was killed on May 21, 2009, when a bomb was set off in a vehicle at an outdoor market in Iraq.
His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal, second award; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal, with two bronze stars; Armed Forces Reserve Medal with two mobilization devices; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; Missouri Expeditionary Ribbon, second award; the Missouri Five Year Long Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.
He has also been submitted for the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal. He received his Army Commendation Medal for his first mobilization to Iraq where he was cited for outstanding performance as the battalion’s only medic.