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.

"He felt it was something he had to do," Shannah Parr said through an Army spokesman. All of Parr's family members have requested that media not contact them for interviews.

Brandon Parr and his wife and son had spent most of their time recently in Germany, which is why few neighbors of Parr's mother knew much about the soldier, according to Army Reserve spokesman Claude McKinney.

Chiappone met Brandon Parr in Germany. Chiappone's job as a rear-detachment commander means he also deals extensively with the families of soldiers who are deployed. Chiappone helped Shannah Parr and her son return to Utah while Parr was in Iraq.

It's common, Chiappone added, that spouses of deployed service members temporarily move back to the United States, even though their main residence is overseas.

Chiappone also talked to Parr's mother on the phone after finding out about the soldier's death.

"They know that we're here to support them," Chiappone said of Parr's family. He described Shannah Parr as a "strong" woman who took it "very well" when her husband deployed to Iraq a second time.

"That's not something that's easy for a family to do," Chiappone said.

Parr's unit in Germany is planning a memorial service next week. Funeral arrangements for Parr are still pending.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com