Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham, 21, of Woodburn, Ky.

Pfc. Gorham was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Vicenza, Italy; died Dec. 31, 2007 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds sustained Dec. 12 in Afghanistan when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Soldier dies weeks after roadside bombing in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

WOODBURN, Ky. — A soldier from south-central Kentucky who suffered severe burns when the Humvee he was riding in rolled over a bomb in Afghanistan has died, his father said Wednesday.

Army Spc. Brian Gorham, 23, of Woodburn suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face, legs, and arms in the Dec. 13 explosion. He died Monday, 18 days after the blast.

“My son was a fighter,” his father, Toney Gorham said. “He fought the whole time.”

Gorham served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy, and had been in Afghanistan for six months. He was being treated in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

Gorham was remembered as a likable man who was always willing to help his neighbors.

“If you were around Brian for very long you would like him,” Jack Wright, a Sunday school teacher at Woodburn Baptist Church, told the Bowling Green Daily News. “I’m proud to have known him.”

Frances McKinney, who lived across the street from Gorham and his family, said Gorham was like a big brother to her daughter.

“When my dad was sick, Brian and his mother would come over and help him up and get around the house,” McKinney said.

McKinney said when she first heard about Gorham being injured by the roadside bomb, “I thought that it can’t be hitting this close to home, but it was.”

When the McKinneys moved into a house across from the Gorhams 15 years ago, the future soldier and his family helped welcome them to the community.

McKinney’s husband spent eight years in the Army, so when Gorham enlisted, he was able to talk to someone who had military experience.

“I remember him coming over and saying he was really excited about doing something meaningful,” McKinney said.

Debbie Brown, a secretary at Woodburn Baptist Church, said Gorham would often arrive at Wednesday church services wearing his Army ROTC uniform.

“I remember that he looked very distinguished and I’m sure he was proud to wear that uniform,” Brown said.

Gov. Steve Beshear directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff in Gorham’s honor.

Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham died 12/31/07 from injuries suffered from an IED on 12/12/07.