Brandon T. Titus often stood in the turret of a Humvee as a machine gunner. He knew that made him a target, but he also knew what would happen if he chose not to do it.
"Then one of my buddies is going to go up there. And if he gets hit that is going to be on my conscience," he told a local news station before shipping out to Iraq.
That reaction didn't surprise Titus' football coach, who praised his character and work ethic. "He was always sticking up for the underdog."
Titus, 20, of Boise, Idaho, died Aug. 17, 2004, in Baghdad in an explosion near his checkpoint. He was based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
Titus graduated high school in 2002. He joined the Army on a delayed entry program, staying in Boise to work as a volunteer football coach. He wrote a letter to his father, Tom Titus, to be opened only upon his death.
"Before I could take all the freedoms and liberty this country has granted, I had to earn them," he wrote. "I don't see any greater honor than giving my life for my country, my family and my friends."
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