Roberto Brabham
27, North Philly
Technical Sergeant, Air National Guard
Deployed to Iraq Summer 2006, Kyrgyzstan Spring 2008
|
Roberto Brabham
27, North Philly
Technical Sergeant, Air National Guard
Deployed to Iraq Summer 2006, Kyrgyzstan Spring 2008
Roberto Brabham grew up in the Logan section of North Philly. After two years at Jay Cooke Middle School, his parents decided to send him out of the neighborhood for school. "It was either that or go to prison," he says. By "prison," he means Olney High School. He was accepted into Chestnut Hill's Parkway Northwest, and recruited into the military shortly before graduating in 2000. He intended it to be a part-time gig to help pay for college.
In spring 2006, Brabham's wing commander made an appeal: He was looking for hardcore people for a mission in Baghdad. Brabham was a staunch supporter of the war. He volunteered and was deployed to Baghdad International Airport, the point from which the deceased leave the war zone to return home. A Patriot detail — in which everyone on base assembles to salute — was called for any flag-draped coffin. "It showed you how real the war was," says Brabham, "because we were out there Thanksgiving time, Christmas, New Years — all the major holidays we would be out there on that flight line."
Also In This Week's Cover Story Section
Comments
Be the first to comment on this article.