Bryan K. Burgess slain by sniper

A 35-year-old Marine sergeant from Canton was killed by a sniper's bullet while serving in Iraq, his family said Friday.

Sgt. Bryan Burgess was shot in the cheek Thursday and died instantly, his family said. Burgess was serving in Fallujah with the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines, a reserve unit headquartered at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township.

His family members said they will ask the Marine Crops to depart from standard procedure and allow men Burgess served with to carry his body off the plane when it is brought back to Michigan.

Burgess' mother, 61-year-old Evelyn Burgess, said her son loved the Marines.

"He loved his country," Evelyn Burgess said from her home in Westland. "He felt that it was worth sacrificing his life for."

An avid skier in winter and an avid motorcyclist in summer, Bryan Burgess attended Livonia Public Schools, went to Franklin High School, and then worked as a framer building houses.

His uncle, Rich Cormier, said his nephew was friendly and kindhearted."There wasn't a malicious bone in Bryan's body," Cormier said. "I would say, 'Bryan, you gotta bring the hammer down on this guy,' and he'd say, 'Aw, nah,' and he'd just move on. I don't think revenge was in his vocabulary."

Burgess' battalion arrived in Iraq about six weeks ago during a surge in violence in Fallujah.

Burgess was the ninth Marine from the 1,100-man battalion, and the fourth with Michigan ties, to die in the fighting.

Besides his mother, he also is survived by his father, Rex Burgess, an attorney in Fair Haven.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

"Usually it's a set group of Marines the Corps brings over, to take him off the plane," Cormier said. "Bryan's wish was to be carried by his friends, his Marine friends and family."

From the Free Press