Kingwood grad killed in Afghanistan convoy accident

Update: The bodies of five American servicemen arrived at the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday, even as violence claimed the lives of more NATO forces in Afghanistan. An Air Force C-17 bearing the bodies of Army Lt. Michael E. McGahan of Orlando, Fla., Army Specialist Brendan P. Neenan of Enterprise, Ala., Marine Sgt. Brandon C. Bury of Kingwood, Texas, Marine Cpl. Donald M. Marler of St. Louis, Mo., and Marine Lance Cpl. Derek Hernandez of Edinburg, Texas, touched down at Dover around noon Tuesday.
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A graduate of Kingwood High School was among three Marines who were killed Sunday while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Brandon Bury, 26, died during what Marine Corps officials said was a motor vehicle accident during convoy missions in the Helmand Province in southwest Afghanistan.

Also killed were Lance Cpl. Derek Hernandez, 20, of Edinburg, and Cpl. Donald Marler, 22, of St. Louis, Mo.
Bury's wife, Heather, and two small sons live in San Diego, Calif., where he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton..
Bury's relatives could not be reached for comment.
Bury was a seasoned combat veteran with two tours in Iraq already under his belt by the time he deployed to Afghanistan.

News about Bury's death quickly spread over social networking sites like Facebook. It was a bitter blow to other members of Kingwood High's Class of 2002.
“It's just heartbreaking. It wasn't easy news to take,” said fellow alum Adam Beier.
Joel Forey said he remembered wearing a Marine Corps T-shirt back in the sixth or seventh grade when Bury told him the shirt was “cool.”

“Even back in middle school, that was something he knew he wanted to do,” Forey said.
In his Myspace page, Bury had written that he missed the good times with his friends of Kingwood.
“One day I hope to move back there but don't tell my wife,” he joked.
Bury was literally the life of the party back in high school, Beier recalled.
“He was the guy who always had a smile on his face,” Beier said. “You always knew when he walked into the room.”

Forey, who serves in the Texas Air National Guard, is now training to control the Predator drone now being used in Afghanistan to support ground troops like Bury.
“It makes me want to hurry up and get out there and help,” Forey said.