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Bryan McDonough grew up in Maplewood, MN. He loved
to fish, hunt, and play hockey and lacrosse. He
graduated from Roseville Area High School in 2002.
A charismatic young man, he has hundreds of friends
as well as a large loving family. When the war
broke out in Iraq in 2003, Bryan saw that some of
the early casualties of the war were men with
families. He felt that the people fighting the war
should be people like him; young and single. He
enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in
September of that year, knowing he would be deployed
to Iraq sooner or later. That deployment came in
October of 2005. He spent six months training at
Camp Shelby, MS and was sent to Iraq at the end of
March, 2006.
Bryan proudly served his country, never doubting his
duty and became an exemplary soldier. He was chosen
as the Soldier of the Quarter for his Company and,
subsequently, as Soldier of the Battalion in
November, 2006.
On December 2, 2006 the Humvee he was driving near
Fallujah was destroyed by an Improvised Explosive
Device. The blast killed Bryan and his friend Corey
Rystad of Red Lake Falls, MN and took the legs of
another close friend, John Kriesel of Vadnais
Heights, MN.
Bryan will never be forgotten by all those who were
honored to have known him. His legacy will live on
in many ways, including the Bryan McDonough
American Heroes Golf Classic, a fund raising event
to help wounded Minnesota soldiers and their
families.
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click here to view a slideshow in memory of
Bryan
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