Paul Bradshaw says his son joined the Army and went to Afghanistan with a Fort Richardson unit "to try and help people" and to make the lives of the people there better.
"He could make people feel better," Bradshaw said Friday shortly before he and his wife Mary left their Steilacoom, Wash., home to fly to Dover Air Force Base to be there when their son's body's arrived back in the United States.
"That was his hope. He didn't go to win a war."
Lt. Brian Bradshaw, 24, a 2007 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, died Thursday in Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised bomb went off near his vehicle, the Department of Defense announced Friday.
Bradshaw, a platoon leader, was on a motorized patrol in Nosow Kheyl when his vehicle was struck by an improvised bomb, the Army said. Bradshaw and the other soldiers in the vehicle escaped without injury, though their vehicle was disabled.
But with the soldiers out of their vehicle, a second roadside bomb detonated as a civilian truck passed, killing Bradshaw.
Bradshaw is the first service member from Washington's Pierce County to die in Afghanistan in more than a year. The last local casualty of that war, Marine Sgt. Michael Washington of Tacoma, was killed in a bombing of his vehicle on June 14, 2008.
Bradshaw was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson.
His unit deployed in stages to Afghanistan beginning in February and Bradshaw arrived in March, his father said.
Paul Bradshaw said he talked to his son by telephone on Father's Day.
"He said that where they were at you couldn't recognize if they were making a difference but they had made friends in that area," his father said.
The danger there was obvious, his father said, but whenever his son spoke about it "he was worried about all his men. He was worried about the people he was responsible for, not himself."
They talked by telephone whenever they could, he said.
"It was clear that it was hard," he said. "He would be tired when he called us. But it was usually pretty late a night. Though he sounded tired he was always upbeat. He was very happy when we sent packages. What he asked for was things to give away to local children there.
"When they were out on patrol they would take crayons, colored pencils and books and toys to give to the children. He said the kids were fascinated by the soldiers."
Bradshaw came from a military family. His father is a retired National Guard helicopter pilot. His mother is a retired Army nurse. A lieutenant colonel, she volunteered to return to duty to serve with the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Lewis.
Paul Bradshaw said they, like any parents in these times, had "very mixed emotions" about their son's choice to join the ROTC program at Pacific Lutheran University.
"He chose to volunteer (for ROTC)," his father said. "He was in the first (ROTC) class after 9/11.
"We are proud beyond belief (but) we really didn't encourage him very much either."
A graduate of Visitation Catholic School and Bellarmine High School, Bradshaw grew up in Steilacoom. During high school he served as a member of the Pierce County Search and Rescue and was a summer counselor at Camp Don Bosco, a Catholic Youth Organization camp in Carnation, Wash.
Paul Bradshaw said his son's determination to help others made him many friends. He said many of those people have been calling the house or stopping by to express their condolences. "Many of them I didn't even know," he said, his voice quavering.
Paul Bradshaw described his son as "very athletic, an outdoors and very action-oriented person. He bicycled, was a backcountry skier and climbed mountains."
He said his son knew Crystal Mountain Ski Area and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia very well. "But his favorite place (to ski) was Mount Baker," he said.
He could also be very funny, he said. "He has a great sense of humor," he said.
Paul Bradshaw said he didn't know if his son planned on making the Army a career though he had talked about it.
"He also talked about teaching history," he said. "He had started taking helicopters for backcountry skiing and talked about wanting to be a guide for backcountry skiing."
No funeral arrangements have yet been made. Paul Bradshaw said there will be a memorial service, probably after July 4.
"You know what can happen (in war)," he said. "You hope it doesn't. You pray a lot."
Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692 and mike.archbold@thenewstribune.com. Daily News reporter Richard Mauer contributed to this story.
By MIKE ARCHBOLD
McClatchy Newspapers