Army Spc. Brandon T. Titus

Died August 17, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Boise, Idaho; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; killed Aug. 17 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his checkpoint in Baghdad.

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Boise soldier killed in Iraq explosion

Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho soldier in the 10th Mountain Division was killed by an explosive device on Tuesday in Iraq, his father said.

Spc. Brandon Titus, 20, was a lead gunner on a Humvee. It was unclear whether he was on foot or in a vehicle during the explosion.

His father, Tom Titus, said he received a visit from two uniformed officers on Tuesday.

“I wasn’t able to sleep this morning and I thought I heard the door bell,” Titus said. “They walked up to the door and verified who I was. Asked me if I was Tom Titus and was my son Brandon Titus. And I knew right there.”

Brandon had served in Iraq for only a few months. He graduated in 2002 from Borah High School, where he played varsity football. He is the sixth Idaho soldier to die since the war started in 2003.

“My son was not supposed to die before me. Now I know what some parents go through,” Tom Titus said.

Tom Titus is a former Army Ranger and decorated Vietnam veteran. He received two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, a Silver Star and the South Vietnamese equivalent of the Medal of Honor.

Titus said he cannot bear to look at them now that his son is gone.