Source: The Kernsville News Mall
http://kernersvillenews.com/article_detail.asp?Id=143

On Monday, December 11, the McAnulty family, of Kernersville, received word that Master Sgt. Brian McAnulty, 39, died when the CH-53 helicopter he was in crashed just after takeoff in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in Twenty-nine Palms, California.

Brian enlisted in the US Marine Corps in April of 1988.

Following graduation from boot camp at Parris Island, SC, he was assigned to the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, NC for training as an infantryman. His first assignment was to the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion in Norfolk, VA, for service as a security guard onboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy. In 1991, he was assigned to the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company, Norfolk, VA.

In 1992, Brian was selected for service with the Marine Security Guard Battalion. Upon completion of training, he was assigned to Marine Security detachments in Asuncion, Paraguay; Seoul, Korea; and Budapest, Hungary.

According to his brother, Brett McAnulty, Brian made it a top priority to become familiar with the customs and culture of every country he served in.

“He was stationed on every continent,” said Brett. “He became involved in the culture of every country he was in. He would go to a place and learn the language, not perfectly, but conversationally.”

In 1996, he executed orders to the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California for duty with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. During that assignment, he deployed with Battalion Landing Team 2/4 as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from November 1998 until April 1999.

In 2001, Brian was reassigned to Marine Security Guard Battalion and trained to serve as detachment commander. He commanded Marine Security Guard detachments at US embassies in war-torn Bujumbura, Burundi and in Bogota, Columbia. From April 2004 until April 2006, Brian served as an instructor/advisor at the Marine Security Guard School in Quantico, VA. In conjunction with his teaching duties, he continued an active security role within the Marine Security Guard Battalion.

In December 2004, when terrorists attacked the US Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Brian was sent in to provide extra security and tactical and personal guidance to the Marines.

In March 2006, Brian was transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st division in Twenty-nine Palms, California and served as the company gunnery sergeant for Weapons Company and later as the operations chief. He deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 4 Marines for combat operations in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“We are extremely proud of the work Brian did,” said Brett. Bob McAnulty, Brian’s father, added, “He shared with me that he felt he was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing. He told me if he hadn’t been doing it there (in Iraq), he would be doing it here.”

According to Stacy McAnulty, Brett’s wife, Brian’s love of learning different cultures also extended into his time in Iraq.

“He learned how to greet the Iraqi people,” said Stacy. “He was first and foremost a Marine. In addition to his passion for being a Marine, he loved playing soccer.”

Bob said Brian played soccer wherever he was.

“He was a four-year varsity soccer player when he was in high school,” said Bob. “We heard from some of the men he was stationed with that Brian mustered up a team to play against the Iraqis they were working with. He arranged the game to keep morale up. One solider told us Brian actually had them believing they would win the game.”

According to Stacy, during a recent leave, Brian spent time with his family in Kernersville.

“While he was home, he helped Brett coach the three and four year old team at the YMCA,” said Stacy.

Fran McAnulty, Brian’s mother, added, “That was Brian.”

According to his family, Brian was the “guy everybody knew.”

“He had a big, infectious personality,” said Brett. “You know there are all kinds of cliques in high school. Brian was a part of all of them. Everybody related to him.”

Brian worked closely with the Iraqi army while he was serving in Iraq, according to his family.

“The Iraqis were comfortable with him,” said Fran. “There was a mutual respect between them. He felt they were his peers. We have been told that when they learned of his death, they cried and brought traditional foods that Brian had eaten. He would eat anything.”

“One of the first times I met Brian, I got the feeling he was like a father to his young Marines,” said Stacy. “He taught them how to balance a checkbook and talked to them about marriage. He never had children of his own. He was great with his two nieces. You got the feeling from him that he would have a dozen children of his own or be a teacher. He loved children.”

Bob said Brian’s motivation was what he called “his” Marines.

“He took care of his Marines,” said Bob. “He was ready to get over to Iraq because he felt like he could take care of his young Marines.”

The McAnulty family said over the past week they have received calls from people all over the world and from people who have known Brian throughout his life.

“We have heard from a former soccer coach,” said Fran. “At his high school they are flying the flag at half-staff. It is such a tribute to him hearing from all those people from his past.”

First Sgt. Gary Bass said of his friend and roommate “Top” – Master Sgt. Brian McAnulty – “To most, he was Master Sergeant, to few he was Brian, but to all he was simply ‘Top.’ I stayed at his house two weeks prior to deploying and I lived in the same room as him for the last three and a half months. He was like a brother. We were peers in rank, time and age. He helped me get situated into my new job. We spent about ten hours a day together for as long as I can remember. If he was angry, it was ‘Hurricane McAnulty.’ Marines scattered like roaches and cleared his path. But more often he was upbeat. During the last month he had really settled into his billet here in Iraq and everything was running smooth. Top had an infectious personality and was loved by all. If there was a group of Marines gathering on the LZ, it was because Top was entertaining. He would tell stories and jokes. When he was ‘on’ everyone wanted to be in on the action. He was the most passionate Marine I have ever been in contact with. He was emotional to a fault. He loved Marines and would do anything for ‘his’ Marines. He always sacrificed his own comfort to provide for others. He was kind, unselfish, honest and brave. The one quality I treasured most was his loyalty. He was someone I could trust with anything. When I needed him he was there for me and I will never forget that he had my back when I needed it the most. I will put it this way, but I don’t think anyone will understand… He protected me from myself.”

Brett said he has always looked up to his big brother.

“It is amazing to see how many people looked up to my big brother the same way I did,” said Brett. “There are people around the world who looked up to him, like a big brother.”

“He was top shelf the whole way,” said Bob. “It is comforting to know that he made a difference in the world.

Stacy added, “He will be missed terribly. But he did more in his 39 years than most do in a whole lifetime.”

According to Bob, Brian was escorted to the Greensboro airport by a former commanding office, Lt. Col. Baker.

“It is a huge honor to be escorted by a former commanding officer, especially one who is currently serving,” said Bob.

Brian was a highly decorated Marine. His awards included the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with Gold Star); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with three Gold Stars); Navy Unit Commendation (with Bronze Star); Navy Meritorious Commendation Medal (with three Bronze Stars); Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (with four Bronze Stars); National Defense Service Medal (with Bronze Star); Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal; Iraqi Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (5th Award); Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon; Kuwait Liberation Medal; Marine Security Guard Ribbon (3rd Award); Expert Pistol (6th Award); and Expert Rifle (9th Award).

“That pretty much sums up the past 18 years of his service,” said Bob.

A service will be held at noon today, Tuesday, December 19 at Pierce Jefferson Funeral Home. Interment will follow with full military honors at Mt. Gur Cemetery in Kernersville. The procession will be led by the Patriot Guard from Pierce Jefferson Funeral Home onto Mountain Street toward Main Street, north onto Bodenhamer at approximately 12:30 p.m. Memorials may be made to Fisher House Foundation, 1401 Rockville Pike Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20852. Online condolences can be sent to the McAnulty family at www.piercejeffersonfuneralservice.com.

MSGT MCANULTY'S AWARDS INCLUDE: NAVY AND MARINE CORPS COMMENDATION MEDAL (WITH GOLD STAR), NAVY AND MARINE CORPS ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL (WITH 3 GOLD STARS), NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION (WITH BRONZE STAR), NAVY MERITORIOUS COMMENDATION MEDAL (WITH 3 BRONZE START), MARINE CORPS GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL (WITH 4 BRONZE STARS), NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL (WITH 1 BRONZE STARS), ARMED FORCES EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL, SOUTHWEST ASIA SERVICE MEDAL, IRAQI CAMPAIGN MEDAL, GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM SERVICE MEDAL, KOREAN DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, SEA SERVICE DEPLOYMENT RIBBON (5TH AWARD), NAVY AND MARINE CORPS OVERSEAS SERVICE RIBBON, KUWAIT LIBERATION MEDAL, MARINE SECURITY GUARD RIBBON (3RD AWARD), EXPERT PISTOL (6TH AWARD), AND EXPERT RIFLE (9TH AWARD).

THE FUNERAL SERVICES FOR MSGT MCANULTY WILL BE HELD AT NOON ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, IN KERNERSVILLE, NC, AT THE PIERCE JEFFERSON FUNERAL HOME. FOLLOWING THE SERVICE, MSGT MCANULTY WILL RECEIVE FULL MILITARY HONORS AT MOUNT GUR CEMETERY, ALSO IN KERNERSVILLE, NC. THE FAMILY WILL RECEIVE VISITORS FROM 1030 UNTIL 1200 ON 19 DECEMBER AT THE PIERCE JEFFERSON FUNERAL HOME. THE FUNERAL HOME WEBSITE IS http://www.Pierce-JeffersonFuneralService.com. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE FAMILY HAS REQUESTED DONATIONS BE MADE IN MSGT MCANULTY'S HONOR TO THE FISHER HOUSE

Source: Clarion Ledger 
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061214/NEWS/612140392/1001/NEWS

Miss. Marine killed in Iraq copter crash

As a Vicksburg teenager, he survived a tragic car wreck that claimed the life of his best friend and soccer teammate.

Nearly 21 years later, as a 39-year-old Marine, Master Sgt. Brian P. McAnulty was killed in Iraq. He died Monday when his helicopter crashed just after takeoff.

McAnulty, a 1985 Warren Central High graduate, was riding in a CH-53 helicopter that went down in Al Anbar province. The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to a U.S. Department of Defense news release.

The Mississippian was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Former Warren Central soccer teammate Rip Engler remembers that McAnulty went into the military after the car accident in Warren County in December 1985.

"After the wreck, it messed him (McAnulty) up. It was a heavy burden for him, and he joined the Marines," said Engler of Vicksburg, who is now a counselor at Hinds Community College. "It's a shock. You don't think of somebody my age getting killed in a war. He was going to retire within the next year."

McAnulty, a passenger in the car in the 1985 wreck, escaped serious injury. The crash killed his best friend and former Warren Central soccer teammate Dennis Mlakar, who drove the vehicle late one evening just before Christmas.

Lucy Young, his former soccer coach at Warren Central, said, she kept tabs on the Marine's military career through his parents. They moved away several years ago, bought a motor home and traveled around the nation before settling in North Carolina.

"He was a great guy who was very dedicated and a very dedicated soldier," said Young, who still coaches softball at Warren Central.

At least 48 military personnel with Mississippi ties, including McAnulty, have died since operations began in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is just coming closer to home,'' Rep. George Flaggs, Jr., D-Vicksburg, said of Mississippi's latest war casualty in Iraq. "I pray to God that we can resolve it. I express my sympathy to the family."

Warren High assistant principal Sharon Williams said e-mails will be sent today to coaches, faculty and staff about McAnulty's death. "There are quite a few who are still here,'' after he graduated May 31, 1985, she said.

McAnulty's death Monday came just two days after services for Air Force Capt. Kermit Evans, a Hollandale native and Mississippi State University graduate killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Evans died Dec. 3 when a helicopter transporting soldiers went down in a lake in Iraq. He was buried Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

On 6 Dec, I was at my desk in my Company Headquarters when an e-mail came across from a buddy of mine and Mac (GySgt Lopez in 3 / 7).  I was astounded when I first read the e-mail and immediately picked up the phone and called then GySgt Lopez.  I had to confer this immediately by verbal communication.  GySgt Lopez and I spoke for about five minutes, after that I sat at my desk and stared in open with disbelief.  I immediately informed one of my fellow GySgts who had served with Mac and I as DetCmdrs and who served with him as An IA at MSGBN.

 I first met Mac at MSG School in October of 1992 going through as Watch-Standers.  We graduated MSG School and I was assigned to MSGDET Montevideo, Uruguay and he was to MSGDET, Asuncion, Paraguay.  Since there were no e-mails during those days we stayed in contact via the embassy lines talking about what was going on in each other dets.  From there I went on to Yaounde, Cameroon and he went on to Budapest, Hungary.  We somewhat lost contact with each other during our tours in Budapest and Seoul.  I was reassigned to Camp Pendleton after my tour on the program. One day, as my soccer team was preparing to play against another team, I heard this voice amongst the players and looked over, and sure enough, it was Mac.  It was, hey dude, what’s going on, what are you doing here?  We chatted for awhile before our game started and then caught up after the game about where we both went after our first posts.  We saw much of each other as our team competed against each other once more in the intramurals.  We kept running into each other on numerous occasions as he was assigned to SOTG and I was on the aviation side.

 In August of 2000, I received orders once again to attend MSG School as a student Detachment Commander.  I reported for class 3-01 in March 2001.  As I was hauling my sea-bags upstairs to the second deck, I heard a voice in the hallway, and as I got to the top and looked down, there he was again.  I said, Mac, what the hell are you doing here?  He said, “Dude, “damn, what the hell are you doing here?”  He turned to the other SSgt he was talking to and said, “ We went through MSG School together as Watch-Standers back in 92,, were right next to each other for our first posts, played soccer against each other on Pendleton, and now, what a coincidence”  

 Those were some great eight weeks going though the school together as DetCmdrs, learning from each other and what we learned from our first time on the program.  On the day prior to graduation, the DetCmdrs got together for a dinner.  The Class Commander spoke and said,” Gents, its been a long eight weeks but we made it through with each others help, however, I would like to recognized the attributes of one individual who kept our sense of sanity and always had interesting and great words to offer, SSgt McNulty.  He provided for us at those times when we needed it most and gave us the mindset that helping each other will lead to everyone success, he has been a true inspiration to all.”

 As Mac went on to Burundi, I went on to Bamako we wished each other success.  Funny thing is Mac and I, were the only two single DetCmdrs drawing numbers to see who would go where.  Alas! He won. 

 Mac and I met at our Companies conference in Pretoria and Capetown, South Africa and Dallas, Texas. He was the “Vice” for our mess night in Dallas and no other could have filled that position better, a great night that was.  As Mac returned to MSGBN as an IA after Bogota, I went on to a third post.  During that time we communicated on numerous occasions and whenever I needed new information on what the Bn was teaching, he was the first I would call, especially since I knew he was teaching the REACT/Weapons package.

 In June I attended the First Sergeant Course in Quantico and the next day during lunch, popped in and surprised him.  We spoke for about 15 minutes before his next period of instruction. I never in my wildest dreams thought that would be the last time I would see Mac. It is ironic because in June of 2006 as I was checking the inbound roster for the Marine scheduled to report to my battalion (2/1), there was his name on the inbound roster.  I said to my self, this is too good to be true.  Here we are been serving in the same units or area since 1992.  I immediately informed the Bn SgtMaj who he was getting and the best as this profession and character. 

  I believe it was about a month later when GySgt Ortega (former DetCmdr/IA who had served with us)  told me Mac had his orders changed to 3 / 4..  I was disappointed, but knowing Mac, he wanted to go over to do his part in Iraq, and my battalion had been scheduled for Okinawa. 

 When I attended Mac’s funeral, it was true to the nature of what he had done for MSGBN.  There were over fifty present and past MSGs to include the BN XO, LtCol Baker, School Staff, IAs, former MSGs from his det in Bogota and former DetCmdrs and the DOS reps who worked with him and were his former Chief Instructor and SgtMaj. I experienced how warm and humble his family was, an indication of where Mac had developed his humbleness.     

  Mac was a great friend and fellow Marine whom I was proud to serve with and as MSGBN motto indicates, “In every clime and place” The Marine Corps lost one of its best and brightest and a truly dedicated Marine.  Everyone that came in contact with Mac knows and felt his inspiration.  His tour with MSGBN has been his greatest feat and legacy he left will forever be enshrined.  The honor that MSGBN bestowed upon him with a range memorial, demonstrate what a lasting impact he gave to the program.  Humble in nature, he was never one to seek glory or praise for what he was doing or did. 

THE DISEASE OF LIBERTY IS CATCHING.  (T. JEFFERSON)

 
SEMPER FI!

1STSGT ORELLANO P.A.