Loss of Utah soldier felt here, abroad

Soldiers in Bamberg, Germany, and family members in West Valley City are feeling the loss this week of Army Sgt. Brandon Allen Parr, one of at least 17 U.S. military members killed just in the first week of March by improvised explosive devices.

"Great guy. Great soldier. Just completely reliable," said Capt. John Chiappone, rear detachment commander for the 630th Military Police Company in Bamberg.

"It's not an easy thing for anybody," Chiappone said on the phone Tuesday from Bamberg. "All of us over here in Germany, we're bothered anytime a soldier is killed, especially when it's one of our own."

Parr and two other soldiers were killed Saturday in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their armored vehicle.

Parr, like Chiappone, was 25 years old and a military police officer. While stationed in Germany, they once had offices next to each other. And they both had dangerous jobs while deployed, Parr to Iraq for a second time, and Chiappone to Afghanistan.

Chiappone, who is from Marlboro, N.J., said no soldier in either Iraq or Afghanistan can afford to let their guard down, whether on base or out securing an area or a route.

"Any soldier, regardless of their military occupation speciality, even when you're (away from your base), you're not completely safe," Chiappone said.

Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are a constant threat to the safety of U.S. troops in Iraq. Already this month, IEDs have been blamed in the deaths of 17 U.S. service members, compared to 12 for the entire month of March last year.

As of Tuesday, the bombs had killed 1,228 of the 3,185 total U.S. troops who have died in Iraq since 2003, according to the Web site www.icasualties.org, which uses data from the Department of Defense. The single deadliest month for U.S. troops killed by IEDs in Iraq was 70 this past December.

"You take every measure to protect yourself," Chiappone said. As a platoon leader, he lost one of his own soldiers in an IED blast. "The enemy is going to try to develop tactics that are effective. We do what we can to counteract those."

More details about the incident that took Parr's life will have to wait until the conclusion of an investigation.

While in Germany, the Parr family lived on a U.S. base there. When Parr deployed to Iraq, his wife, Shannah, and 4-year-old son, Nicholas, moved in with Parr's mother, Teota Dangel, whose West Valley address was listed with the Army as Parr's home of record.

Parr was born in Bakersfield, Calif., grew up in San Luis Obispo and graduated from Copper Canyon High School there. He eventually moved to Utah with his mother and stepfather. He met Shannah at a dance club in the Salt Lake area and they married in 2001. Two years later, Parr joined the Army.