Army Pfc. Brandon S. Mullins

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Brandon S. Mullins, 21, of Owensboro, Ky.

Pfc Mullins was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died Aug. 25, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

SPC Brandon Scott Mullins, 21, of Owensboro, Kentucky died in service to his country in Kandahar province in southeast Afghanistan on August 25, 2011. He graduated from Apollo High School in 2008, participated in hockey and youth football and was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. PFC Mullins joined the Army in 2010 and had been assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Rev. Thomas C. Mullins and Mary Mullins and his maternal grandparents, Gerald Heald and Sara Davis Heald.

Survivors include his parents, Thomas and Catherine Mullins of Owensboro; a brother, PFC Shaun Erik Mullins and his wife Ashley of Fort Bragg, NC; a sister, Bethany Rose Mullins of Owensboro; uncles, Bob Mullins of Lexington, David Mullins and his wife Kathy of Irvine, CA and James Heald of Thailand; aunt, Elizabeth Wright of Ashland, KY; and cousins, Stephanie Mullins Sweatt, Brian Mullins, Tori Mullins, Alexis Mullins, Madison Mullins, Jake Wright, and Daniel Berry.

‘He wanted to serve and was proud to serve’
The Associated Press

OWENSBORO, Ky. — A solider killed in Afghanistan has been remembered as a selfless young man who made a difference in the lives of others.

Army Gen. Steve Lyons told hundreds of people who attended a funeral service on Sept. 11 for 21-year-old Spc. Brandon Scott Mullins of Owensboro that he was the heart of his platoon and the epitome of service. Lyons said those were just two reasons Mullins has been nominated to receive the Bronze Star, the Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro reported.

“Some people can live their entire lives wondering, did they make a difference,” Lyons said. “We never have to wonder about Brandon’s life.”

Mullins was killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Kandahar province on Aug. 25. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

David Mullins said his nephew knew the risks of enlisting, but decided to follow in the steps of his older brother, father and grandfather.

“He wanted to serve and was proud to serve,” Mullins said, adding that his nephew had planned to re-enlist.

Youth pastor Damian Schoonmaker said Mullins has found himself in the Army.

“He became such a man — faithful, stalwart, servant-hearted and passionate.”

Christy Chaney of Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory, which handled the service at Good Shepherd Church in Owensboro, said about 1,500 people signed a register in remembrance of the soldier.

He was buried in Owensboro Memorial Gardens.

Army Pfc. Brandon S. Mullins was killed in action on 8/25/11.