Tag: bubba

Marine Lance Cpl. Bruce E. Ferrell

Died August 10, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

21 year old Bruce Ferrell, of Perdido, Ala.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Aug. 10 while supporting combat operations in Garmsir, Afghanistan.

Alabama Marine on 1st deployment dies in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

MOBILE — A 21-year-old Marine from Perdido in north Baldwin County was killed in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded during a routine foot patrol near Kandahar, family members said.

Lance Cpl. Bruce “Bubba” Ferrell Jr. was reported killed Sunday after stepping on an explosive.

Bruce Ferrell Sr. told the Press-Register that his son had recently become a Marine and began his first deployment in May.

He said the family last heard from him Saturday.

“We got to talk to him for 10 or 15 minutes, and we feel very lucky about that, because it happened the next evening,” Bruce Ferrell Sr. said.

Bubba Ferrell’s older sister, Danielle Denise Whatley, died in a car accident in 2006.

Hundreds remember fallen Marine

The Associated Press

BAY MINETTE, Ala. — A Marine who was killed in Afghanistan is being remembered in south Alabama.

A funeral was set for Monday for Marine Lance Cpl. Bruce Earnest “Bubba” Ferrell Jr. of Perdido. The 21-year-old Marine was killed by an improvised explosive while on patrol in Afghanistan on Aug. 10.

On Aug. 16, crowds of people with American flags and signs turned out in Bay Minette to remember Ferrell as a hearse carrying his body rolled through town.

Ferrell graduated from Baldwin County High School in 2006 and joined the Marines the next year. He had been in Afghanistan since May.

Army Capt. Brian M. Bunting

Died February 24, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

29 year old Brian Bunting, of Potomac, Md.; assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New York National Guard, Syracuse, N.Y.; died Feb. 24 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Sgt. Schuyler B. Patch, Sgt. Scott B. Stream and Sgt. Daniel J. Thompson.

Captain remembered for dedication, personality

Tim Simpson, director of admissions at Brian “Bubba” Bunting’s high school, described him as a man dedicated to three things — family, friends and country.

“You see pictures of him with a big, goofy smile on his face, and that was Bubba 99 percent of the time,” Simpson said. “Whoever came in contact with him felt that positive energy and what a unique and special individual he was.”

Bunting, 29, of Potomac, Md., was killed Feb. 24 by a roadside bomb in Kandahar. He was a 1998 high school graduate and was assigned to Syracuse, N.Y.

Bunting graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a degree in civil engineering in 2002, and also played lacrosse and intramural football.

Bunting, who was on his first combat tour as a ready reservist, was stationed in Korea for two and a half years and was later stationed at Fort Knox, serving as a company executive officer and commander.

“He’s just a great guy,” said his sister-in-law, Sue Bunting. “He just made everyone feel welcome and at ease.”

He is survived by his wife, Nicki, and his son Connor, 1.

Md. lowers flags to honor soldier

The Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gov. Martin O’Malley has ordered that the United States and state flags be flown at half staff in memory of a Montgomery County soldier killed in Afghanistan.

O’Malley ordered the flags be lowered March 16 in memory of Army Capt. Brian M. Bunting, who grew up in Potomac.

Bunting, 29, died Feb. 24 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Department of Defense says Bunting was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Bunting was a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Syracuse, N.Y.