Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: May 5, 2006
Abad, Afghanistan
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Fontana
High School: Fontana High (Fontana)
Whenever a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Bryan Allen Brewster telephoned his family to assure them he was OK.
But when Brewster's family heard news reports that 10 soldiers were killed May 5 in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter along the Pakistan border, there was no call from the 24-year-old sergeant.
"Whenever there was a [helicopter] crash, he would call us," said his father, Louis. "He knew that we would be worried. He always called to tell us he was fine."
On May 7, military envoys arrived at the Brewster home in Victorville to tell them Bryan was killed two days earlier along with nine other soldiers from the Ft. Drum, N.Y.-based 10th Mountain Division.
The helicopter went down in a remote area of the Afghan mountains, where soldiers were searching for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, a U.S. military official said. It wasn't believed that enemy fire caused the crash.
Louis Brewster, sports editor for the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, confirmed his son's death shortly after he received the news along with his wife, Linda, and son Scott.
He recalled Bryan's charm and noted that his heart belonged to his high school sweetheart and wife, Kati. They didn't have any children.
"She loved that boy, and he loved her," Louis Brewster said. "They were meant for each other."
Bryan Brewster celebrated his 21st birthday in Afghanistan and his 22nd in Iraq. He turned 24 a week before he died.
"It's an awful lot of missed birthdays and anniversaries," Louis Brewster said.
Funeral arrangements will be made when the soldier's body arrives home.
"Every one of us is very proud of what Bryan did and what he accomplished," his father said.
Read the entire LA Times about Army Sergeant Bryan A. Brewster article here. Find more at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
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Also killed were:
Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr. -- Rest In Peace
Spc. David N. Timmons Jr. -- Rest In Peace
Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp -- Rest In Peace
Sgt. John C. Griffith -- Rest In Peace
Specialist Justin L. O'Donohoe -- Rest In Peace
Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick -- Rest In Peace
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson -- Rest In Peace
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten -- Rest In Peace
Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty -- Rest In Peace
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