Sparrowhawk
11-04-03, 08:29 AM
Inland soldier dies in Iraq blast
MEMORIAL: The Army lieutenant from Jurupa was one of three siblings in the military.
01:48 AM PST on Tuesday, November 4, 2003
By SANDRA STOKLEY / The Press-Enterprise
Last spring, Jurupa-area residents Larry and Linda Bryant spoke proudly about their children -- all three in the U.S. armed forces -- and the top-notch training they received in preparation for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.
A picture of, from left, Tim, Tiffany and Todd Bryant in their military uniforms that was taken in their parents' home in the Jurupa area. Todd Bryant was killed on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.
But that belief in the professionalism of the U.S. military was sorely tested when the Bryants heard in August that their youngest son, Todd, was shipping out to the "Sunni Triangle" in Iraq, a hotbed of anti-U.S. activity.
"We knew it was not going to be a good situation," Linda Bryant said in a telephone interview Monday.
On Friday, the Bryants' worst fears were confirmed when they learned from daughter Tiffany that Todd, 23, had been killed by an explosive device Friday morning as his Humvee traveled on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.
On Wednesday, the family will gather at Fort Riley, Kan., for a memorial service.
In attendance will be Todd Bryant's two siblings: Marine Maj. Timothy R. Bryant, a veteran of the Iraqi war, and Army Capt. Tiffany Bryant, who returned in June from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Linda Bryant said she does not know when her son's body will be shipped back to the United States. He will be buried in Arlingtion National Cemetery, she said.
Todd Bryant, a second lieutenant in the Army, was a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.
Linda Bryant said her son's Aug. 30 marriage was a bittersweet affair -- joy mixed with worry about his deployment.
"I kind of figured it was going to be the last time we would see him," Bryant said.
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, who appointed Todd and Tiffany Bryant to West Point, called him "the best the country has to offer."
"It's a real tragedy," Calvert said. "He was a wonderful soldier doing his responsibility."
Calvert said his staff was rocked by the news because Todd Bryant had interned in the congressman's office in the summer of 2001.
"We all knew him here and loved him," Calvert said.
Despite their loss, the Bryants say they support the U.S. military's presence in Iraq.
"We think we've got to stay," Linda Bryant said. "We've got to do it or else all the people that have died there will have died in vain."
A picture of, from left, Tim, Tiffany and Todd Bryant in their military uniforms that was taken in their parents' home in the Jurupa area. Todd Bryant was killed on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.
MEMORIAL: The Army lieutenant from Jurupa was one of three siblings in the military.
01:48 AM PST on Tuesday, November 4, 2003
By SANDRA STOKLEY / The Press-Enterprise
Last spring, Jurupa-area residents Larry and Linda Bryant spoke proudly about their children -- all three in the U.S. armed forces -- and the top-notch training they received in preparation for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.
A picture of, from left, Tim, Tiffany and Todd Bryant in their military uniforms that was taken in their parents' home in the Jurupa area. Todd Bryant was killed on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.
But that belief in the professionalism of the U.S. military was sorely tested when the Bryants heard in August that their youngest son, Todd, was shipping out to the "Sunni Triangle" in Iraq, a hotbed of anti-U.S. activity.
"We knew it was not going to be a good situation," Linda Bryant said in a telephone interview Monday.
On Friday, the Bryants' worst fears were confirmed when they learned from daughter Tiffany that Todd, 23, had been killed by an explosive device Friday morning as his Humvee traveled on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.
On Wednesday, the family will gather at Fort Riley, Kan., for a memorial service.
In attendance will be Todd Bryant's two siblings: Marine Maj. Timothy R. Bryant, a veteran of the Iraqi war, and Army Capt. Tiffany Bryant, who returned in June from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Linda Bryant said she does not know when her son's body will be shipped back to the United States. He will be buried in Arlingtion National Cemetery, she said.
Todd Bryant, a second lieutenant in the Army, was a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.
Linda Bryant said her son's Aug. 30 marriage was a bittersweet affair -- joy mixed with worry about his deployment.
"I kind of figured it was going to be the last time we would see him," Bryant said.
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, who appointed Todd and Tiffany Bryant to West Point, called him "the best the country has to offer."
"It's a real tragedy," Calvert said. "He was a wonderful soldier doing his responsibility."
Calvert said his staff was rocked by the news because Todd Bryant had interned in the congressman's office in the summer of 2001.
"We all knew him here and loved him," Calvert said.
Despite their loss, the Bryants say they support the U.S. military's presence in Iraq.
"We think we've got to stay," Linda Bryant said. "We've got to do it or else all the people that have died there will have died in vain."
A picture of, from left, Tim, Tiffany and Todd Bryant in their military uniforms that was taken in their parents' home in the Jurupa area. Todd Bryant was killed on the road between Fallujah and Baghdad.