Marine Staff Sgt. Brian Bland, at left, eats Thanksgiving dinner in Fallujah, Iraq, with a fellow Marine. He was killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2005, with 29 other Marines and one sailor.
Kristy Gray
Marine Staff Sgt. Brian Bland was a drill instructor who pushed men to their limits.
Kristy Gray
Brian Bland grew up in Newcastle. His mother, Beverly Johnson of Sheridan, said he was always smiling and never cried.
This is what Beverly Johnson of Sheridan knew about her son: He was the younger brother, a baby who never cried, a boy who always smiled. Growing up in Newcastle, he wrestled starting at 10 years old, but quit his senior year. He gained 60 pounds and grew 8 inches that year.
She knew he re-enlisted in the Marines the third time knowing he’d go to war. She knew he died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2005, with 29 other Marines and one sailor.
This she learned after his death: He ran ahead of other Marines so he could have a cigarette break at the finish line. He grilled a mean steak and loved to ride his motorcycle through base. As a drill sergeant, he pushed men to their limits.
She learned this online, at www.fallenheroesmemorial.com, where dozens of marines have written tributes to her son. Seven years later, she is still reading, and Brian’s friends are still writing:
Gunnery Sgt. Kulak S. David: “If it wasn’t for Brian, Gysgt Hall would have dropped out when [given] the chance. That was Brian. When you were tired or ready to quit he was there for you … I have tattooed Brian’s name along with several other fallen brothers names on my arm so when asked whose names were there I can tell the story of hero.”
Lance Cpl. Sultan: “I knew SSGT. Bland as ‘DRILL INSTRUCTOR SGT. BLAND SIR.’ … He was my teacher, my instructor, my mentor … The sparkle in his eyes, when he taught us how to drill, the motivation he gave us going up the reaper, always pushing us to the max.”
Cpl. Castellano of Baghdad: “I only saw him smile once when a fellow recruit did something really stupid and I was amazed that the machine actually had a smile. And then he showed our platoon the most respect when he was actually in the rain room with us after our final motto run. He pushed me on my back and I quickly turned around and saw him … and I did not know whether to stand at attention or start pushing. He just smiled and said, ‘As you where MARINE!’ He was the first person to call me Marine.”
Marine Staff Sgt. Brian Bland, at left, eats Thanksgiving dinner in Fallujah, Iraq, with a fellow Marine. He was killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2005, with 29 other Marines and one sailor.
