Marine Sgt. Brandon C. Bury

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Sgt. Brandon C. Bury, 26, of Kingwood, Texas

Sgt. Bury was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died June 6, 2010 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Lance Cpl. Derek Hernandez and Cpl. Donald M. Marler.

A Marine from Kingwood was killed Sunday in Afghanistan.

Brandon Bury’s humvee was hit by an IED near Kabul. The vehicle flipped into water and Bury drowned, according to friends in Kingwood. Bury was embedded with three other Marines to train military police when he was killed. Bury, 26, was a 2002 graduate of Kingwood High School.

His mother and father live in McKinney, Texas, which is outside of Dallas. They say just a few days before he died he told his wife about the dangers of war.

"And she said, 'Brandon, please tell me you are going to come back alive to me and the boys.' This was a week ago," said Bury's mother, Teri Bury. "And he said, 'I'm sorry Heather. I can't do that. I can't promise you that."

"It get to me as far as the way, I've heard so far, the way my brother past was by drowning. He was also a combat swim instructor for the Marine Corp.," said Brian Bury. Brian Bury was Brandon's older half-brother.

Bury leaves behind a wife and two young sons along with memories his brother plans to share with them as they grow up.

"He always looked after other people, he's my little brother, but he's huge. He is taller than me, I looked up to him just because of his physical stature and also for what he has done with his life," said Bury.

Bury said his brother was proud of the work he was doing in Afghanistan.

"He say changes taking place that don't often get portrayed and he was proud of those changes and proud to be part of it," he said.

Sgt. Bury even volunteered to return to the region after he had already served two tours of duty in Iraq. "He was the picture perfect Marine, he looked the part," said Bury. He paid a price for all of us to live a life that of strong American values," said Bury.

There will be two memorial services to honor Bury: one in Kingwood and another in San Diego where he was stationed with his young family.

Nancy Johnson is a member of the Blue Star Moms of Kingwood. Her son is also a marine and plans to reenlist in the service, something Johnson would prefer he not do. “After this, I just want him to stay home. It just hits home when something like this happens,” she said.

News about Bury's death quickly spread over social networking sites like Facebook. It was a bitter blow to other members of Kingwood High's Class of 2002.

“It's just heartbreaking. It wasn't easy news to take,” said fellow alum Adam Beier.

Joel Forey said he remembered wearing a Marine Corps T-shirt back in the sixth or seventh grade when Bury told him the shirt was “cool.”

“Even back in middle school, that was something he knew he wanted to do,” Forey said.

In his Myspace page, Bury had written that he missed the good times with his friends of Kingwood. “One day I hope to move back there but don't tell my wife,” he joked.

Bury was literally the life of the party back in high school, Beier recalled. “He was the guy who always had a smile on his face,” Beier said. “You always knew when he walked into the room.”

Forey, who serves in the Texas Air National Guard, is now training to control the Predator drone now being used in Afghanistan to support ground troops like Bury. “It makes me want to hurry up and get out there and help,” Forey said.

Marine Sgt. Brandon C. Bury was killed in action on 6/6/10.