Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Army Spc. Edward L. Brooks

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Edward L. Brooks, 25, of Dayton, Ohio

Spc. Brooks died Aug. 29, 2007 in Ramadi, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Dayton Daily News -- The Department of Defense late Thursday announced the death of a soldier from Dayton who died of wounds from an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Killed while serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom was Spc. Edward L. Brooks, 25.

He died Wednesday in Ramadi of wounds from the explosion, the announcement said. Brooks was assigned to 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

A Springfield native serving in Iraq was injured in the same explosion.

Colonel White High School Junior ROTC Maj. Odell W. Graves said Thursday that Brooks was a member of the ROTC class of 2000.

Graves said he expects that Brooks will be flown into Wright-Patterson Air Force Base within the next several days.

Graves said Brooks had been wounded three times before his fatal injury.

"He was a winner," Graves said. "He was one of the true heroes in my book. He never complained. A stellar hero, a true Daytonian."

In the Junior ROTC, Brooks excelled at being a "spin master" in precision rifle drills, twirling his 9-pound rifle like a baton. Initially, Graves said, Brooks entered the service as a tank driver.

His mother is coming from Tennessee for services, which should be held at Omega Baptist Church, Graves said.

Graves said Brooks' wife and infant child are also coming from Germany. Brooks was a cadet colonel for the national champion ROTC drill team at Colonel White, which has been renamed Thurgood Marshall.

Graves said he expects the entire class of 2000 to be present at memorial services. The school's ROTC, as well as UD's ROTC and Army representatives will participate in the services.

Several years ago, Brooks helped raise the flag during the grand opening ceremony at the U.S. Post Office on Salem Avenue, Graves said, recalling that he called Brooks at the last minute to help with the ceremony.

Brooks promptly agreed.

"Edward was one of those gems," he said.

Army Spc. Edward L. Brooks was killed in action on 8/29/07.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My condolences go out to the family and friends of SGT.Edward L. Brooks. Two days after he was killed I drove from Ft. Benning, Georgia with my husband SFC James Warren up to Ft. Knox, Ky. to spend Labor Day weekend with my son SPC Anthony Stangle who is stationed there. We came home on Labor Day. This morning 09/12/07, I received a phone call from my son tell me that he had been called for his 1st Funeral Detail the day after Labor Day.
He told me that he did not know the young soldier who had been killed.
My son Anthony recently returned from Ramadi,Iraq himself after being over there for 15 months.
I'd like to see if there is anyone reading this that will see to it that both SGT Brooks Spouse and mother recieve a "GOLD Star" Flag for their sacrafice and loss.
If not, please contact me and I will assist with this.
Thank you,
Anna Marie Stangle Warren

Unknown said...

Hi my sweet big brother this is your younger and most important brother in your life Stefan,I miss u every second of everday and think about u all the time,I'm very proud of u and what u accomplished in your young life,it just angers me that your life was taken away like that while trying to protect our country,while alot of people that R living doesnt deserve to live,Only your opinion and moms only ever mattered to me,thank u my wonderful big brother for building me up to your friends best believe I bragged about u all the time as well,and what also makes me mad I'm only your brother I'm more important to u then anybody else except mom but yet I get the shaff from these idiots from the newspaper or these articles or someone like major graves,if u were here u wouldn't let that happen nothing but disrespect,your idiot wife that the conversations we had about that retarded idiot was so funny,I remember u telling me u treated her like a child and I wasn't surprised I always wanted u to find a woman on your level and who is smart everything she isn't. but it certainly doesn't matter or anyone of those losers in Dayton,but I am becoming the man u wanted me to be and we love and miss u so much,love u brother until we meet again.