Bryan Burgess remembered

The flag-draped coffin of Marine Sgt. Bryan Burgess of Canton Township was expected at Detroit Metropolitan Airport today (Thursday), escorted by six Marines who will stand by his side until funeral services and burial Saturday.

Burgess, 35, was killed last week in Iraq by a sniper while on patrol with the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines in Fallujah.

"They were doing a typical security mission checking vehicles, stopping and searching for weapons," said Gunnery Sgt. Steven Kosinski of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines in Perrysburg, Ohio. "The machine gunner keeps watch, and it was at that point where Sgt. Burgess was shot by a sniper while observing his checks."

Kosinski said military reports indicated Burgess died instantly from the wound. A Purple Heart ceremony is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Friday during visitation at Griffin Funeral Home in Westland.

"The Marines will present some of the awards Sgt. Burgess earned in Iraq and the Marine Corps, and the Purple Heart is one of them," Kosinski said. "They will be presented to his mother and father."

Burgess will be buried with full military honors after a Saturday morning funeral Mass at St. Bernadine of Siena Catholic Church in Westland.

MOTHER'S FEARS
His mother, Evelyn Burgess of Westland, said she knew right away something terrible happened when three Marines showed up at the front door of her home.

"I knew something was wrong; I knew he was gone," Burgess, 61, said about being notified her only child was killed by a sniper's bullet.

Bryan Burgess lived with a roommate the past several months in Canton before being deployed, but was raised in Westland and attended Livonia Franklin High School. Evelyn Burgess said her son was in the Marines for 11 years and traveled around the world, but this was his first tour of duty in Iraq.

"He had only been in Iraq for six weeks and I was afraid for him," said Evelyn Burgess, who wears a button with her son's picture. "But he wanted to serve his country and be with his fellow Marines. He didn't want to disappoint them.

"He was on my mind 24 hours a day, but he liked the challenge," she added. "I'm very proud of him."

As a member of the Marine Reserves, Burgess participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and also spent time training against terrorists in Africa and with soldiers from other countries in South America.

"The Marines were special to him, and he participated as much as he could," Kosinski said. "He was a motivator. He would get down in the trenches with his juniors. He was a great instructor, and would do anything for anybody. He died with honor."

Bradley Compton, 26, of Ypsilanti Township served in the Marine Reserves with Burgess, where they were also roommates. They were such close friends that Burgess participated in Compton's wedding.

"Bryan would have given his last shirt off his back to a complete stranger," Compton said. "He worked really well with the younger Marines, and they had an enormous amount of respect for him.

"He wanted to go to Iraq to make sure the younger guys, who didn't have the experience, were OK," he added. "He had outstanding leadership ability."

'ALWAYS UPBEAT'
Canton Township Trustee Todd Caccamo, who is currently a Marine fighting in Iraq, said in an e-mail that he bunked with Burgess while they trained at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"Bryan was a great guy, he was always upbeat and smiling," Caccamo wrote. "I talked to him almost every day. He'd yell something from his turret at me and toss me a thumbs up or a wink, 'Hey, Caccy-baby. Go get'em!'

"I talked to him no more than 24 hours before his untimely death," he wrote. "All of us at Weapons Company miss him greatly."

Clay Cutchin of Pinckney served with Burgess in 1999, while both were stationed at Mountain Warfare School in California.

"Bryan was a junior Marine, but his maturity was way beyond that," Cutchin said. "He quickly garnered a lot of responsibility and respect.

"He was the kind of Marine the mystique of the Marines was built on," he added. "He was phenomenal in that way."

Visitation is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Griffin Funeral Home, located at 7707 Middlebelt in Westland. The funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Bernadine of Siena Catholic Church, 31463 Ann Arbor Trail in Westland, following a one-hour visitation in the church. There will not be a burial service.

"A bagpiper will play Amazing Grace, and a rifle detail outside will give a 21-gun salute," Kosinski said. "Six Marines will fold the American flag draped over his casket and present it to the family."

Leah Bell, 31, who lived three houses down from Burgess while growing up, plans to pay her respects to Burgess and his family.

"Bryan was always the kind-hearted kid, and didn't like to see people hurt," Bell said. "There are so many memories to share, but I want people to know what a great guy he was, and he believed in what he was doing. His mother raised a great young man, and he will never be forgotten. I will miss him."

From the Observer

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Bryan K. Burgess slain by sniper