Fallen soldier eulogized as 'everybody's son'
by Sheila Gardner, sgardner@recordcourier.com
October 22, 2006
(Article Reprinted in Part)

More than 1,000 mourners - from bikers to World War II veterans - gathered Saturday in Minden to honor Army Pfc. Phillip Brandon Williams cut down by a sniper's bullet in Iraq where he served as a military policeman.

Williams, 21, was Carson Valley's first military casualty in the war in Iraq.

"It's like he's everybody's son," said Alejah Miller, 14, who attended services with her mother.

Williams was serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Baghdad and was dispatched to Iraq in March. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Team in Fort Campbell, Ky.

He died Oct. 9, shot by a sniper as he guarded Explosive Ordinance Disposal personnel who are trained to eliminate roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices.

Scores of law enforcement personnel attended in honor of Williams' father and uncle who are sergeants with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

More than 400 flag-waving motorcyclists showed up from across northern Nevada and California, some spurred to attend by a threat from a Kansas-based religious group that they would send protesters to the funeral.

The protesters did not materialize and the bikers provided a colorful addition to the ceremonies.

His parents, Lisa Hall and Brad Williams, were presented several medals including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

Each family member including his brothers, Justin, 20, and Aaron, 17, and sister Amy, 16, were given Gold Star lapel pins, a tradition from World War I for families who have lost relatives in combat.

Ana Andrews, a member of the local Blue Star Mothers, helped hand out hundreds of flags to people as they entered the high school. Her son Gieorag, 23, is a graduate of the Naval Academy, and is completing submarine training. Andrew, 22, is in Australia and is headed for Officers Candidate School. "I'm here because of my sons," she said. "And because their father died in active duty in the military."
Gieorag was 15 months old and she was pregnant with Andrew when her husband died in Panama. "And I come from a country where you couldn't have the freedoms we have now," said Andrews who is a native of Colombia. "Brandon reminds me of my children," she said.