The State - News from Dec. 18, 2001

ARLINGTON, Va. â€”  Army Staff Sgt. Brian “Codyâ€� Prosser, one of three Green Berets killed by an errant U.S. bomb in Afghanistan, was remembered Monday as “the best of the bestâ€� who gave his life doing what he loved: serving his country.

“Cody is a hero and I will love and miss him for the rest of my life,� said his widow, Shawna, after his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Prosser, 28, from Frazier Park, Calif., was killed Dec. 5 when a bomb carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives missed its target and landed 100 yards from his group’s position north of Kandahar.

Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory of Cheshire, Mass., also were killed; 20 U.S. troops were injured.

Three of Prosser’s colleagues who were hurt in the incident attended Monday’s ceremony in wheelchairs, wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold and wind. The Pentagon, under reconstruction after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, loomed in the background.

During the ceremony, Prosser’s widow, mother and father were presented U.S. flags and a bugler played taps.

“Cody was the best of the best,� Shawna Prosser said after the ceremony. “I know that he would want me to say thank you to this great country that he was so willing and honored to serve.�

She recalled the last conversation she had with her husband before he left for the Middle East.

“He told me that he wasn’t scared, that he was ready, and over there was where he needed to be,� she said. “I am so proud of my husband because he was doing what he loved to do.�