Army Sgt. Bryan Allen Brewster, 24, Victorville; Among 10 Troops Killed in Afghan Copter Crash

Whenever a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Bryan Allen Brewster telephoned his family to assure them he was OK.

But when Brewster’s family heard news reports that 10 soldiers were killed May 5 in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter along the Pakistan border, there was no call from the 24-year-old sergeant.

“Whenever there was a [helicopter] crash, he would call us,” said his father, Louis. “He knew that we would be worried. He always called to tell us he was fine.”

On May 7, military envoys arrived at the Brewster home in Victorville to tell them Bryan was killed two days earlier along with nine other soldiers from the Ft. Drum, N.Y.-based 10th Mountain Division.

The helicopter went down in a remote area of the Afghan mountains, where soldiers were searching for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, a U.S. military official said. It wasn’t believed that enemy fire caused the crash.

Louis Brewster, sports editor for the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, confirmed his son’s death shortly after he received the news along with his wife, Linda, and son Scott.

He recalled Bryan’s charm and noted that his heart belonged to his high school sweetheart and wife, Kati. They didn’t have any children.

“She loved that boy, and he loved her,” Louis Brewster said. “They were meant for each other.”

Bryan Brewster graduated from Fontana High School and enlisted in the Army when he was 18. In only three years, he achieved the rank of sergeant and easily earned the trust and loyalty of the 30 men in his unit, his father said.

“These people were very proud of him,” he said.

When Brewster was transferred from the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Ky., to Ft. Drum, 30 of his helicopter mechanics volunteered to transfer with him, his father said. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry).

Bryan Brewster celebrated his 21st birthday in Afghanistan and his 22nd in Iraq. He turned 24 a week before he died.

“It’s an awful lot of missed birthdays and anniversaries,” Louis Brewster said.

Funeral arrangements will be made when the soldier’s body arrives home.

“Every one of us is very proud of what Bryan did and what he accomplished,” his father said.

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War casualties

Total U.S. deaths* as of Friday

* In and around Iraq: 2,432

* In and around Afghanistan: 234

* Other locations: 57

Source: U.S. Department of Defense

* Includes military and civilian personnel killed in action and nonhostile circumstances