Combat soldier killed by police is denied Army funeral honors

September 28, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

Army Spc Brandon Berrett

Army Spc Brandon Berrett

On Monday, amid a small group of mourners, Gail Barrett of Tucson trembled and wept as Spc. Brandon Barrett was laid to rest without Army funeral honors.  Just weeks after returning from war he was killed in a confrontation with out-of-state police, according to a story that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star.

The soldier’s father, Bill Barrett, a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, looked on in his dress blue uniform, wiping away his own tears with a white handkerchief.

In lieu of formal Army rites, combat veterans from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9972 in Sierra Vista stepped in and rendered military honors over the troubled soldier’s urn. The honor guard rendered honors with 3-volly rifle salute, bugler performing taps and presenting folded flags to his parents.

“We thought he deserved some dignity,” VFW member Francis MacDonnell said of Brandon Barrett, 28 an infantryman who died Aug. 27, apparently in the midst of a mental breakdown after a year-long tour in Afghanistan.

“Civilians can only speculate,” how soldiers are affected by war, but “veterans understand,” said MacDonnell, who served two tours in Vietnam.

“He slipped through the cracks,” added C.J. “Shorty” Larson, also a Vietnam veteran, and color guard captain for Post 9972. “When we send these people over there to fight, we need to give them all the help we can.”

Brandon Barrett’s case shows “we are failing,” he said.

The Barrett family believes the soldier committed “suicide by cop,” said his brother, Tucson Police Department Detective Shane Barrett.

Dressed in full combat gear and armed with a rifle, handguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, the soldier posted himself outside a Salt Lake City luxury hotel, told passers-by he was “in training” and started shooting when police arrived.

One shot grazed a police officer’s leg, and the officer returned fire, striking the soldier in the head.

The Salt Lake Tribune has quoted unnamed troops from Brandon Barrett’s unit, the 5th Stryker Brigade, saying he was suffering from combat stress but wasn’t properly screened after deployment.

Officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash., where the brigade is based, say the soldier was screened but showed no signs of violence.

Even so, they are investigating the unit’s handling of the case, including reports that Brandon Barrett was publicly berated by a supervisor after being arrested for driving under the influence on his first day back from war. They’re also checking into why the Army didn’t notify the soldier’s family, as required, when he went absent without leave a few weeks before the incident.

Without waiting for results from the probe, Assistant Army Secretary Thomas Lamont revoked military funeral honors on Sept. 9, the day before the soldier initially was to be buried.

Barrett family

Barrett family

A chaplain from Fort Huachuca presided over Monday’s service at the Southern Arizona Memorial Veterans’ Cemetery, wearing civilian clothing instead of a uniform because of the ban on official Army honors.

“The circumstances of his death are baffling and leave us with unanswered questions,” said the chaplain, Lt. Col. Norman Jones of the fort’s 11th Signal Brigade.

Jones said, Brandon Barrett’s military service “reflects great credit upon himself, his family and his country.”

This story really disturbed me. I have sent a letter to the Asst. Sec. of the Army requesting an explanation for his decision. Typically, active duty suicides are given military honors with a small detail of 2-3 to fold and present the US f lag, no pallbearers, no firing squad and no bugler. This soldier was not even given a small detail. It seems to me, his decision was meant to dishonor the warrior, instead he inflected further mental anguish on a grieving family. I find this totally unacceptable to families who make such sacrifices.

Resource:  Carol Ann Alaimo, Arizona Daily Star

14 Responses

  1. Selina Macgillivray

    September 29th, 2010 at 7:04 AM

    1

    I hope you will keep us updated we want to know why Army would dishonor his family this way…may he RIP

  2. Joanna Bergeron

    September 29th, 2010 at 3:24 PM

    2

    For once I don’t know what to say. My heart goes out to all. I do agree that our soldiers are traumatised and do not get the help that they need, something has to be done there has been to many incidents and senseless deaths.

  3. Lest We Forget

    September 29th, 2010 at 3:47 PM

    3

    What is wrong with this picture? To go to war and to come back INJURED and then to be denied a funeral with military honors is beyond understanding. Like so many other stories we keep hearing about this only goes to show that another wounded warrior has slipped through the cracks due to the continued stigma PTS carries within the Army. Stuff like this does not just happen overnight, and I bet you there were many signs that something was wrong long before he got to the point of a total breakdown. How about instead of just screening people we begin to make counseling mandatory for those returning from war? PTS symptoms sometimes do NOT come on sgtrong until months after returning home and sadly most soldiers will not even admit there is a problem, or notice they have one. Families and loved ones need to be their advocates and DEMAND care if they see things are different. If they were not this way before war, obviously something happened if they now act different since they returned. War changes everyone.

  4. bsalles

    September 29th, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    4

    Heart breaking to see our service men treated with such disrespect…shame on the Army

  5. Evancho Jackie

    September 29th, 2010 at 7:43 PM

    5

    I’m speechless…he is at peace now…you were not dishonorable the Army is.

  6. EverySoldier

    September 30th, 2010 at 5:34 AM

    6

    Listen up every soldier and civilian out there complaining and crying like little girls. As a Senior NCO with 5 Combat deployments in the Middle East with OIF/OEF, Vetern of Gulf War, Somalia, amd Panama I have seen alot of war and its worse. That does not give me an excuse to act out and ruin other people lives, hurt ot kill others and be a violent criminal against society. You can blame the Army, and anyone else but the botton line is a grown man went out thier and shot at police officers and made them shot back. How do you think that police officer feels about having to kill him. We as Combat soldier have a job to seek assistance ourselves, our families have to get off thier butts and help us when we need it not wait until its to late. The problem is to wide spreas and to many programs are out thier. Lastly LISTEN UP if you have problems or if YOUR FAMILY MEMBER HAS A PROBLEM then take thier guns away put trigger locks on them, then breach locks, put them in a gun safe and store them at a friends or relatives house or in a locked closet were the service member cannot get to them also all service medications should be monitiered and given out by a familiy member, friend, battle buddy if possible and locked away from them also a daily log of when each is to be taken and when each is administered I take 15 medications do to being wounded multiple times seriously….wake up its your job and your families job if not then the hell with it you just gave up by doing nothing.

  7. muscle man

    September 30th, 2010 at 8:13 AM

    7

    Your web site is a beautiful tribute to those who are forgotten or overlooked….my heart goes out to his family and pray they find comfort in knowing their son will rest in peace for eternity in the arms of God.

  8. B Cloth

    September 30th, 2010 at 9:04 AM

    8

    love this site – you tell stories not found on cable tv…clearly the army is wrong and the family deserves a public apology.

  9. Len Griffin

    September 30th, 2010 at 9:17 AM

    9

    This is abuse of power!!!!!!
    He served in a combat zone, fought a war and earned the right to a military funeral. I do not condone his violent actions but it is like Graduating college with a Phd. getting in a bar fight and the government taking away your Phd.
    The ONLY veteran that cannot have a military funeral is one with a dishonorable discharge. He is no longer recognized as a veteran by the government. This Asst. needs to reverse his decision and now provide a FULL military funeral as an apology to the family. The service is for what he did on duty not off duty because of PTSD. America PTSD is a terminal illness.

  10. VFW Honor guard

    September 30th, 2010 at 5:52 PM

    10

    I was on the honor guard team that provided honors for the Barrett family. As a combat veteran myself, I was floored to hear about this tragic event. SPC Barrett is a causality of war. PTSD is a recognized diagnosis which affects 30% of all combat veterans returning from war. I only hope something good comes out of this and a new US Army screening policy for PTSD is implemented.

  11. Jerry Castillo

    September 30th, 2010 at 6:58 PM

    11

    @EverySoldier I appreciate your feedback and comments, but with all do respect denying a combat veteran an Army funeral is like kicking a dead dog. Actually, in this case the Army A.S. essentially pissed on his grave, in front of his parents. A denial of military honors could not possibly bring shame on a dead soldier for allegedly committing a crime, that is still under investigation. The best course of action would have been to wait for the final report before making a final decision on the type of discharge he would be granted or entitled to.
    A funeral service is not for the dead it is for the survivors of the dead.
    If you support the actions taken by the Asst. Sec. that’s fine, but please understand his decision reflects poorly on the Army, US military veterans and our country. In my opinion, it was a disgrace, disrespectful and dishonorable to the family.

  12. Tell Your Representative to Make Sure the DOD/VA Look Out for Our Military and Vets – Timothy A. Stone

    October 1st, 2010 at 12:13 AM

    12

    [...] Combat soldier killed by police is denied Army funeral honors | USFallen.org [...]

  13. Gregory Despain

    October 30th, 2010 at 11:31 AM

    13

    nice blog, I like!

  14. ArmyVet

    November 20th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

    14

    I agree with EverySoldier, seems most are forgetting, he shot a police officer. His service does not give him the right to hurt other people.
    Too many troops are coming home, with and without problems—do not allow a very, very small minority of those affected by the war dishonor those that served. Right after Vietnam I saw the same thing happening. People
    that committed crimes blamed it on the ‘nam and the public started judging us all on those few. For those struggling, there is help. All troops know how to get it. Not by shooting something up or driving drunk.

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