UPDATE: Bryan Henderson's Funeral Set
By: Nick Lawton
Updated: March 20, 2013
UPDATE: A funeral has been set for Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Henderson, the soldier from Fort Necessity, La. who was killed more than a week ago in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
Bryan's family told NBC 10 News that his funeral will be this Friday at 2 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church on 287 Taylor Ave. in Winnsboro.
Bryan's family said the funeral will be open to the public.
Bryan will then be buried at Boeuf Prairie Methodist Church on 4590 Highway 135 in his hometown of Fort Necessity.
------------------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS STORY: In the City of Winnsboro, the flag flies at half-staff and the hearts and minds of the ArkLaMiss stop to remember a home-grown soldier.
That soldier was Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Henderson, killed on Monday in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
It was early that morning when his cousin, Al Bryan, got the call that no military family ever wants to hear.
"When he called me and told me, my reaction was shock," Al said. "Am I dreaming this or is this really happening? You don't expect it to happen to your family."
For now, all Bryan's family has left of him are burning questions as to why it happened.
"We won't see him again, then you just wonder," Al said. "You're asking questions like why? How did this happen? Why did it happen?"
By all accounts, Bryan was a home-grown boy.
He grew up just 10 miles away from Winnsboro in Fort Necessity in the hustle and bustle of a boy's life out in the country.
"It's a bunch of stuff, from little kids playing 'Robin Hood' to walking the cornfields, irrigating in the hot summer, mad because it was so hot. Just so much stuff there," Al remembers.
He graduated from ULM in 2006 studying aviation.
Sally Davidson, the former department head of aviation at ULM, had nothing but a glowing report for Bryan.
"Bryan's heart and soul were in Aviation," she said. "He returned every semester after he graduated to talk to our Aviation students. The last time he came to ULM, he was in uniform and so excited about his helicopter training. He was such a positive role model to these young people, both as a student and as a graduate. This is a sad loss."
ULM President, Dr. Nick Bruno, shared a similar sentiment.
"ULM is saddened by this tragic loss," Bruno said. "Bryan made ULM proud with his service to our country. We will keep his family and friends in our thoughts."
Bryan had been serving in the army for seven years and was just about to reach the rank of Major but his family back home remembers him as the kid that everybody liked.
"He wasn't a stranger to anybody," Al remembers. "Anytime he saw somebody, he was out, shake your hand, 'how you doing,' hug your neck, just that kind of person."
Bryan leaves behind a wife and a stepchild.
His immediate family is flying up to Delaware for his body's return to the country he served, ready to bring this home-grown soldier back, laying him to rest in Fort Necessity.
"If you got a loved one out there, if they're overseas, if they're not overseas, whatever they do, just give them a hug, tell them you love them because you never know when the last time will be that you see them," Al said.
Al told NBC 10 News that, at the moment, no funeral plans have been set in place yet.
His family said Bryan loved being a military pilot and that's the thought they're holding onto: that he died loving what he did and defending the people he loved back home.
Bryan's family told NBC 10 News that his funeral will be this Friday at 2 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church on 287 Taylor Ave. in Winnsboro.
Bryan's family said the funeral will be open to the public.
Bryan will then be buried at Boeuf Prairie Methodist Church on 4590 Highway 135 in his hometown of Fort Necessity.
------------------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS STORY: In the City of Winnsboro, the flag flies at half-staff and the hearts and minds of the ArkLaMiss stop to remember a home-grown soldier.
That soldier was Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Henderson, killed on Monday in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
It was early that morning when his cousin, Al Bryan, got the call that no military family ever wants to hear.
"When he called me and told me, my reaction was shock," Al said. "Am I dreaming this or is this really happening? You don't expect it to happen to your family."
For now, all Bryan's family has left of him are burning questions as to why it happened.
"We won't see him again, then you just wonder," Al said. "You're asking questions like why? How did this happen? Why did it happen?"
By all accounts, Bryan was a home-grown boy.
He grew up just 10 miles away from Winnsboro in Fort Necessity in the hustle and bustle of a boy's life out in the country.
"It's a bunch of stuff, from little kids playing 'Robin Hood' to walking the cornfields, irrigating in the hot summer, mad because it was so hot. Just so much stuff there," Al remembers.
He graduated from ULM in 2006 studying aviation.
Sally Davidson, the former department head of aviation at ULM, had nothing but a glowing report for Bryan.
"Bryan's heart and soul were in Aviation," she said. "He returned every semester after he graduated to talk to our Aviation students. The last time he came to ULM, he was in uniform and so excited about his helicopter training. He was such a positive role model to these young people, both as a student and as a graduate. This is a sad loss."
ULM President, Dr. Nick Bruno, shared a similar sentiment.
"ULM is saddened by this tragic loss," Bruno said. "Bryan made ULM proud with his service to our country. We will keep his family and friends in our thoughts."
Bryan had been serving in the army for seven years and was just about to reach the rank of Major but his family back home remembers him as the kid that everybody liked.
"He wasn't a stranger to anybody," Al remembers. "Anytime he saw somebody, he was out, shake your hand, 'how you doing,' hug your neck, just that kind of person."
Bryan leaves behind a wife and a stepchild.
His immediate family is flying up to Delaware for his body's return to the country he served, ready to bring this home-grown soldier back, laying him to rest in Fort Necessity.
"If you got a loved one out there, if they're overseas, if they're not overseas, whatever they do, just give them a hug, tell them you love them because you never know when the last time will be that you see them," Al said.
Al told NBC 10 News that, at the moment, no funeral plans have been set in place yet.
His family said Bryan loved being a military pilot and that's the thought they're holding onto: that he died loving what he did and defending the people he loved back home.
