SSGT BRIAN CODY PROSSER
MI Det, 2nd Bn, 5th SFG (ABN)
Age
28 - From Frazier Park, California
Killed on December 5, 2001 - Kandahar, Afghanistan
Prosser,
28, was a military intelligence sergeant assigned to the MI Detachment,
2nd Bn., 5th SFG (Abn.), in his 10th year of service. He participated
in contingency operations in Somalia, Haiti, Jordan, Kuwait, Kosovo and
throughout Southwest Asia. He is survived by his wife, Shawna, and his
parents, Brian Prosser and Ingrid Solhaug.
FROM NIGHT STALKERS 160th SOAR(A)
ENDURING FREEDOM MEMORIAL
(http://www.nightstalkers.com/enduring_freedom/memorial/ssg_prosser/index.html)
FRAZIER PARK,
Calif. — To friends who knew him when he starred on the high
school football team and worked at the local lumber store, it seemed
all but inevitable that Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser would grow up to
be a war hero.
"When he went into the Army that was his dream, to become an Army Ranger," Glenn Wilson, a former football buddy, recalled.
Prosser, 28, was one of the three elite Special Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan Wednesday when a bomb missed its Taliban target and landed about 100 yards from them. Twenty others were wounded in the worst "friendly fire" accident of the war.
The death left this small town nestled in the mountains of Los Padres National Forest devastated but at the same time bursting with pride to have known a man hailed as a hero.
"He was a leader, a warrior and proud to be a soldier," Prosser's 22-year-old brother, Jarudd Prosser, said by phone from his Frazier Park home. "He's my role model."
Prosser lived in nearby Bakersfield with his wife, Shawna. But the family home for years has been located in Frazier Park, a tiny, bucolic mountain town with an old-fashioned main street that appears still anchored in 1950s America.
A popular day-trip destination with Los Angeles residents 50 miles away, it sits at an elevation ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. It and several surrounding small communities are home to about 8,400 residents.
"This whole community is affected. The Prosser name is pretty renowned here," said Carla Johnston, who said she has known Prosser all his life and whose husband, Joshua, attended Maricopa High School with him.
It was there that Prosser was captain of the football team. After school, he worked at Alpine Lumber.
"He was quite a character," Jean Miller, the store's manager, recalled with a laugh. "He had a sense of humor."
Prosser's father, also named Brian, ran his own welding business in Frazier Park at one time.
As friends dropped by to offer condolences to the soldier's mother and father, Ventura County sheriff's deputies quickly blocked off access to outsiders to the family's rambling, ranch-style home, which is situated a half mile off the nearest road. Outside is a large sign, erected in happier times, that welcomes visitors to "Prosser Country."
"We're dealing with it as a family," a man who identified himself as Prosser's youngest brother told an Associated Press reporter before a sheriff's deputy ordered her off the property. "I know time heals all wounds, but I think over time it's just going to get worse."
One of four brothers, Prosser joined the Army soon after graduating high school.
"I think of him as a jock and someone who would go into the military and serve his country well, Jeff Richardson, 32, recalled fondly over a drink at the town tavern Wednesday night. "His family members are all upstanding Americans."
Jarudd Prosser said the family knew the risks involved, adding that as soon he learned his brother was shipping out he made it a point to tell him how he felt about him.
"In a war, people die," he said Wednesday. "It puts a lot of things in perspective. It really makes me think when you care about someone, you have to tell them that. When I heard he was going overseas, I left nothing unsaid."
The other soldiers killed Wednesday were identified as Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Mass.
All were members of the Army's 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Gov. Gray Davis issued a statement Wednesday night praising each of them.
"These men served their country valiantly," he said. "They made the supreme sacrifice for our freedoms."
"When he went into the Army that was his dream, to become an Army Ranger," Glenn Wilson, a former football buddy, recalled.
Prosser, 28, was one of the three elite Special Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan Wednesday when a bomb missed its Taliban target and landed about 100 yards from them. Twenty others were wounded in the worst "friendly fire" accident of the war.
The death left this small town nestled in the mountains of Los Padres National Forest devastated but at the same time bursting with pride to have known a man hailed as a hero.
"He was a leader, a warrior and proud to be a soldier," Prosser's 22-year-old brother, Jarudd Prosser, said by phone from his Frazier Park home. "He's my role model."
Prosser lived in nearby Bakersfield with his wife, Shawna. But the family home for years has been located in Frazier Park, a tiny, bucolic mountain town with an old-fashioned main street that appears still anchored in 1950s America.
A popular day-trip destination with Los Angeles residents 50 miles away, it sits at an elevation ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. It and several surrounding small communities are home to about 8,400 residents.
"This whole community is affected. The Prosser name is pretty renowned here," said Carla Johnston, who said she has known Prosser all his life and whose husband, Joshua, attended Maricopa High School with him.
It was there that Prosser was captain of the football team. After school, he worked at Alpine Lumber.
"He was quite a character," Jean Miller, the store's manager, recalled with a laugh. "He had a sense of humor."
Prosser's father, also named Brian, ran his own welding business in Frazier Park at one time.
As friends dropped by to offer condolences to the soldier's mother and father, Ventura County sheriff's deputies quickly blocked off access to outsiders to the family's rambling, ranch-style home, which is situated a half mile off the nearest road. Outside is a large sign, erected in happier times, that welcomes visitors to "Prosser Country."
"We're dealing with it as a family," a man who identified himself as Prosser's youngest brother told an Associated Press reporter before a sheriff's deputy ordered her off the property. "I know time heals all wounds, but I think over time it's just going to get worse."
One of four brothers, Prosser joined the Army soon after graduating high school.
"I think of him as a jock and someone who would go into the military and serve his country well, Jeff Richardson, 32, recalled fondly over a drink at the town tavern Wednesday night. "His family members are all upstanding Americans."
Jarudd Prosser said the family knew the risks involved, adding that as soon he learned his brother was shipping out he made it a point to tell him how he felt about him.
"In a war, people die," he said Wednesday. "It puts a lot of things in perspective. It really makes me think when you care about someone, you have to tell them that. When I heard he was going overseas, I left nothing unsaid."
The other soldiers killed Wednesday were identified as Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Mass.
All were members of the Army's 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Gov. Gray Davis issued a statement Wednesday night praising each of them.
"These men served their country valiantly," he said. "They made the supreme sacrifice for our freedoms."
KILLED SOLDIER BURIED AT ARLINGTON
From Arlington National Cemetery Website
(http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/bcprosser.htm)
Monday December 17, 2001
Staff Sergeant
Brian "Cody'' Prosser, one of three Army Green Berets killed by an
errant U.S. bomb in Afghanistan was remembered Monday as "the best of
the best'' who gave his life doing what he loved - serving his country.
"Cody is a hero and I will love and miss him for the rest of my life,'' said his widow, Shawna, after his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Prosser, 28, from Frazier Park, California, was killed December 5 when a U.S. bomb carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives missed its target and landed 100 yards from his team's position north of Kandahar.
Master Segeant Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tennessee, and Sergeant First Class Daniel Petithory of Cheshire, Massachusetts, also were killed. Twenty U.S. troops were injured.
Three of Prosser's colleagues who were hurt in the incident attended Monday's ceremony in wheelchairs, wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold and wind. The Pentagon, under construction following the terrorist attacks in September, loomed in the background.
During the ceremony, Prosser's widow, mother and father were presented American flags and a bugler played "Taps.''
"Cody was the best of the best,'' his widow said after the ceremony. "I know that he would want me to say thank you to this great country that he was so willing and honored to serve.''
She recalled the last conversation with her husband before he left for the Middle East.
"He told me that he wasn't scared, that he was ready, and over there was where he needed to be,'' she said. ``I am so proud of my husband because he was doing what he loved to do.''
Mrs. Prosser described the "overwhelming pain'' she has felt since her husband's death and told reporters she had not wanted to share her grief with anyone but family and close friends.
"As each day has passed, I have seen so much generosity and kindness from so many people across our great country,'' she said.
Prosser, who was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals posthumously, also was honored at a ceremony last week at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
"Cody is a hero and I will love and miss him for the rest of my life,'' said his widow, Shawna, after his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Prosser, 28, from Frazier Park, California, was killed December 5 when a U.S. bomb carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives missed its target and landed 100 yards from his team's position north of Kandahar.
Master Segeant Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tennessee, and Sergeant First Class Daniel Petithory of Cheshire, Massachusetts, also were killed. Twenty U.S. troops were injured.
Three of Prosser's colleagues who were hurt in the incident attended Monday's ceremony in wheelchairs, wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold and wind. The Pentagon, under construction following the terrorist attacks in September, loomed in the background.
During the ceremony, Prosser's widow, mother and father were presented American flags and a bugler played "Taps.''
"Cody was the best of the best,'' his widow said after the ceremony. "I know that he would want me to say thank you to this great country that he was so willing and honored to serve.''
She recalled the last conversation with her husband before he left for the Middle East.
"He told me that he wasn't scared, that he was ready, and over there was where he needed to be,'' she said. ``I am so proud of my husband because he was doing what he loved to do.''
Mrs. Prosser described the "overwhelming pain'' she has felt since her husband's death and told reporters she had not wanted to share her grief with anyone but family and close friends.
"As each day has passed, I have seen so much generosity and kindness from so many people across our great country,'' she said.
Prosser, who was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals posthumously, also was honored at a ceremony last week at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
NATIONAL VETERANS FOUNDATION:
THE BRIAN CODY PROSSER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
(http://www.nvf.org/prosser/)
The Brian “Cody” Prosser Memorial
Scholarship
Family and friends of Brian “Cody” Prosser have announced the creation of the Brian “Cody” Prosser Memorial Scholarship Fund in remembrance of Staff Sergeant Prosser’s contribution to the war on terrorism. Cody, a 28-year-old Staff Sergeant in the Army’s Green Beret Special Forces, was one of three soldiers killed by a U.S. friendly fire incident in Afghanistan on December 5th, 2001.
Friends, family and military servicemen alike recall Prosser, a posthumous recipient of the bronze star medal, as an All-American archetype. The unfortunate news of his death was exceptionally startling to the residents of Frazier Park, CA, Prosser’s hometown. “When you go to war, you know there’s a chance of you dying,” said Ken Swope, a friend of Prosser’s. “But when it’s friendly fire, it’s not right. I know it’s a mistake, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
Family and friends of Brian “Cody” Prosser have announced the creation of the Brian “Cody” Prosser Memorial Scholarship Fund in remembrance of Staff Sergeant Prosser’s contribution to the war on terrorism. Cody, a 28-year-old Staff Sergeant in the Army’s Green Beret Special Forces, was one of three soldiers killed by a U.S. friendly fire incident in Afghanistan on December 5th, 2001.
Friends, family and military servicemen alike recall Prosser, a posthumous recipient of the bronze star medal, as an All-American archetype. The unfortunate news of his death was exceptionally startling to the residents of Frazier Park, CA, Prosser’s hometown. “When you go to war, you know there’s a chance of you dying,” said Ken Swope, a friend of Prosser’s. “But when it’s friendly fire, it’s not right. I know it’s a mistake, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
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