Snapshots for Servicemembers
Brian Fuller
We have a long military history in our family, dating back to World War I. With our father being a lifelong servant to the US Army and a Viet Nam veteran, military pride and patriotism was a part of our family DNA. Our older brother Bill had also served in the Army so following in the footsteps of our father and brother was just natural. By the time Brian reached high school he had joined the ROTC. The attacks on 9-11 were a pivotal moment for all of us that experience that day. In fact, our father was scheduled to attend a meeting at the Pentagon on 9-11, but he was experiencing chest pains so he instead went to the hospital. Like so many others, the attacks on 9-11 was the catalyst that solidified Brian's decision to join the Army.
Brian was assigned to the 502nd Engineer Company, affectionately referred to as the Five-O-Deuce and he was deployed to Iraq in September of 2004. During his time in country, Brian and his team repeatedly constructed bridges over the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, only to see them blown up over and over again. His company was based at Camp Anaconda and successfully completed 32 missions, seeing action in Baghdad, Tikrit and Fallujah. Most of the bridges were being constructed as part of logistical troop support but also as part of humanitarian efforts. Brian recalls a bridge being built one time specifically for the purposes of giving the local population access to voting locations.
During missions Brian was most commonly serving as the gunner in his HUM-V as the teams moved through Iraq in troop convoys. Once they arrived on site, he would immediately get to work getting his equipment set up to begin work constructing the bridge they were working on that day. Brian was medically discharged from the Army in 2005, stemming from injuries sustained during his service in Iraq. I am so very proud of my brother's service, as well as all our other military. Their personal sacrifices so often do not stop just because they came home. They deserve our respect and our gratitude. If you see a veteran, take a moment to thank them for their service, it will mean far more than you could possibly know.
