CEDAR HILL, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
Family and friends said goodbye to a remarkable soldier from Franklin County. 31 year old, Sergeant First Class, Brian Woods, died August 16th, from combat wounds suffered two days earlier, while serving with the Army's Special Forces in Afghanistan. On Saturday, mourners remembered Woods as much more than an elite soldier during a memorial service at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill, where Woods graduated in 1996.Music filled the gym. A banner hung from the balcony. It hardly seemed that long ago that Woods was just another kid high school. He'd quickly become so much more: soldier, husband, daddy. His aunt read a letter his sister, Katrina, had written the day after he died.
"'I can still see him, the big, strong soldier ... at the side of his newborn baby; the light in his beautiful brown eyes,' " it read. " 'I am proud to call him Sergeant First Class, William "Brian" Woods, Jr., my brother. '"
Woods, entered the military as a Marine. In the Army, he became a Green Beret, sharp-shooter, and member of the Army's Special Forces. He was the first in a family full of veterans to die in the line of duty. His uncle, a Vietnam veteran, led several dozen Patriot Guard riders escorting his casket. Both of his grandfathers served in World War Two. The one who is still living delivered the eulogy. Woods' grandfather, Joe Durbin, said there was too much talk about who Brian "was" instead of who he still "is".
"He'll always be our grandson," Durbin said, choking back tears.
"I'm sure that he would say, yes, you can love me as much tomorrow as you did, yesterday, because I'm still, Brian...Brian is a husband. Brian is a father, to Lilly, Elle, and baby Tookie. He'll always be their father...if Brian could speak today, I'm sure he would add, 'love my country, even as I loved it'."
Woods is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two daughters, Lilly, 6, and Elle, 8 months. He was buried next to his son, "Tookie", who was stillborn in January 2008.
