Bryan Bertrand
COOS BAY MOURNS A FALLEN HERO
Published January 11th, 2002
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"The U.S. Marines fit nicely into the life of Bryan Bertrand. He loved physical challenges: football, basketball, anything to get his heart pounding and the sweat dripping off his face. The Marines just took it a step further, dropping him off in a rugged country to help fly planes.
So, no one was surprised when Bertrand volunteered for a second tour of duty in Pakistan. He could have returned to base in California last month and started picking the strings on his new electric guitar, but he wanted more adventure. He wanted to stay with the team. In a letter to his family, Bertrand wrote that he didn't want to "sit on the bench."
Marine Lance Cpl. Bertrand, 23, died on Wednesday in a military plane crash in Pakistan along with six other Marines. He is Oregon's first military casualty of the war against terrorism. The family remained in seclusion Thursday at their home in north Coos Bay and declined to talk to reporters. But Bertrand's father, Bruce Bertrand, said Wednesday that he is proud of his son and his service to the country.
Flags flew at half-staff Thursday across Coos Bay as the south coast town of 15,000 mourned the loss of a man many consider a hero."
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- Story by Wendy Owen, with contributions from Norm Maves Jr.
"Part of what drew Bertrand to the Marines was the teamwork, the same as football, Lorenz said."In the thick and the thin, he was always there right beside you," Lorenz said. When Bertrand returned from boot camp, he checked in with his recruitment officer, Boening said.
Bertrand originally wanted to join the infantry. "I guided him away from that," Boening said, "and into aviation electronics. He scored well on the exams."
Bertrand lived for sports. His father played basketball for Oregon State University before working as a teacher and basketball coach at Marshfield High School. His mother, Patty, teaches elementary school in North Bend.
The younger Bertrand didn't excel in basketball as his father did. Rather, his sport was football. He earned all-state honors as an outside linebacker at Marshfield before graduating in 1997.
"He was a tremendous young man who gave 100 percent whether it was digging a ditch or playing football," George said. "He didn't like being on the sidelines of anything." People were naturally drawn to Bertrand, friends said. Teachers and coaches described him as a school leader who had a lot of friends."
"Donna Bosselman, a retired first-grade teacher, remembered Bertrand as "a very bright, energetic little boy who was an absolute delight to have in the classroom." Bertrand attended Blossom Gulch Elementary School in Coos Bay. But even as a 6-year-old, Bosselman said, "He always liked to be where the action was."
"I think Bryan struggled trying to find himself," said Mike George, a family friend who coached Bertrand in high school basketball. Bertrand joined the Marines after listening to the stories of a friend who had enlisted, said Christian Lorenz, a friend and former football teammate. Bertrand was the only one of Lorenz's three buddies who talked of signing up to go through with it.
"He loved it," Lorenz said. "He couldn't get enough of it."
The high point for Bertrand was making it through navigator school, said Kent Wigle, his high school football coach."
IN HONOR OF
BRYAN BERTRAND
