18 June 2011


U.S Army Pfc. Brian J. Backus, age 21, from Saginaw Township, Michigan, was killed in action on 18th June from enemy fire during a battle with insurgents. The incident happened in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Backus served with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York. He joined the army in June 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan in March this year.

Reverend Paula M. Timm, pastor of Harbor Beach United Methodist Church, where Pfc. Backus and his family were regular worshipers, said of him: “He had that twinkle in his eye and he was just a sweetheart. This is just breaking our hearts.”

Pfc. Backus leaves his two-year-old son Jack, his parents Alan and Anne, and brother Paul.