Soldier Andy Brown
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Soldier Andy Brown
This was on the front page of our local paper...it is just so sad.
Area soldier dies in Iraq
STAFF AND WIRE REPORT 10/11/2004
A Wayne County soldier died Friday in Iraq, a week after being critically injured by an explosive device that struck his patrol vehicle.
U.S. Army Sgt. Andrew W. Brown, 22, of Pleasant Mount, had been serving in Iraq since June, his mother, Lourdes Brown, told the Associated Press on Sunday night.
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A 2000 honor graduate of Forest City High School, Sgt. Brown was serving with the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry based in Fort Polk, La., according to Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Lt. Col. Martin said Sgt. Brown died from injuries caused by a shrapnel blast in Baghdad, but he did not know the details of the injuries or how the blast happened.
"When they blow up shards of metal, it just devastates everything," Lt. Col. Martin said.
Ms. Brown said she spoke to her son a week ago and that he was fine. She declined to elaborate, saying that the news was "still very raw."
"We're just waiting for him to come home so we can plan his funeral," she told the Associated Press.
Friends described the fallen soldier as very bright and dedicated.
"He loved the military," said David Daugherty, one of Sgt. Brown's best friends.
"Even before he joined the Army, I knew he would," said Daryl Burleigh, another lifelong friend who was in Cub Scouts with Sgt. Brown. "He was always patriotic. He had a military sense about him.
"You could tell that that was something he would be interested in. That that would be something important to him."
Mr. Burleigh recalled playing paintball with Sgt. Brown.
"He was by far the best out of everybody that would play," Mr. Burleigh said. Mr. Burleigh's mother, Mary Ann, described her son's late friend as a "sweet, wonderful boy" who often skied at Elk Mountain with his mother.
"I've been devastated all week about him being wounded and now, of course, his passing," she said. "I always thought a lot of Andrew."
Sgt. Brown, who was single, is also survived by his father, William Jr., and his brother Kevin. Both said they were not ready to speak with the press.
Sgt. Brown is the third soldier from Northeastern Pennsylvania to be killed in Iraq.
Sgt. Sherwood Baker, 30, of Plymouth, was killed April 26 in an explosion in Baghdad while securing a warehouse that had been suspected of containing chemical weapons.
Sgt. Dale Thomas Lloyd, 22, of Watsontown, was killed June 19 in a mortar attack while serving in Scandaria.
How sad for these guy's families. I continue to pray everyday for the men and women that defend our country.
How devastating for the families and friends of these young men! I am grateful for their sacrifice.
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