Airman's death creates 'huge loss in our family'

As the Hill Air Force Base community mourns the loss of one of its own today, relatives of Tech. Sgt. Ryan Balmer in Indiana are preparing for his funeral there.

"Our lives will never be the same without him," said his sister Sherri Balmer by phone. "There's been a big, huge loss in our family."

Hill airmen this afternoon are holding a special service for Balmer, 33, more recently of Roy, and Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, 25, of North Canton, Ohio, who were killed June 5 when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle.

Balmer grew up in Mishawaka, Ind., where he played baseball and ran track in high school. He was the youngest of six boys and three girls — his sister Sherri, 52, was the oldest child.

She described her brother as quick witted and mischievous, that is, when his older siblings put him up to doing things.

"He was so cute when he did it — and he never got in trouble," she said. "He was a joy and a pleasure to have around as a man, father and as a brother."

Sherri said her brother never talked much about his job as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. He once, with a chuckle, told his mother Patricia Balmer, "'Hey, Mom, I could interrogate you in a million ways and you wouldn't know it,"'Sherri said. "Ryan knew the dangers of his position, but he was not going to let Mom know that."

Balmer's mother was in Utah with his wife, Danielle, and their three children, awaiting his arrival back in the United States next week after a 180-day deployment. His mother and family living in Roy are expected to be back in Indiana this weekend.

A cousin, Andrew Deacon, who is also in the military, is escorting Balmer's body back to South Bend, Ind., for a funeral planned possibly for Tuesday at the Southlawn Cemetery in that city. Balmer will be buried next to his father, Roger Balmer, who passed away in 1980.

Because Sherri's brother had been on so many dangerous missions during his 13-year career in the Air Force, she never expected to get the news she received this week. She said his recent tour in Iraq was his first in that country.

"I just figured he'd do his mission and come home just like other times," she said. "I never expected him to come home in a casket. He'll be sadly missed."

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com