Eielson remembers defender at memorial

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Gloria Wilson
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Staff Sgt. Brandon K. Stagner was remembered by family and friends at his memorial Nov.14 at Eielson's base chapel.

A picture of this 354th Security Forces member was in the center of the room. In front of it was combat boots, a security forces beret and dog tags. The photo was not necessarily large, but his smile in the picture caught your eye. It was what many called Sergeant Stagner's big Hawaiian smile, which was said to come freely and often from this defender who was born in Kahuku, Hawaii.

His smile, his cooking, and even what Staff Sgt. Samantha Freeman, 354 SFS, called Sergeant Stagner's obsession with cleanliness and with everything having a home would be missed. She called him the brother she never had and said he was many different things to many different people.

"He was a protector of Airmen, a friend, a big brother, a mentor and a leader," said Sergeant Freeman. "We will miss him very much."

Capt. Ryan Bodge, 354 SFS operations officer, described Sergeant Stager as someone selfless who was always looking out for his fellow Airmen whether it was to help them move or to babysit. Captain Bodge had also served with Sergeant Stagner in Iraq from summer of 2007 until spring of 2008. Sergeant Stagner posthumously received an Air Force Commendation Medal for that tour, which was presented to his parents, Dr. Ishmael and Carmen Stagner, at the memorial service.

After the medal presentation Dr. Stagner addressed those who gathered to honor his son's memory and thanked them and the Air Force for being there for Brandon. He said it meant a lot to realize how dear his son was to a lot of people.

"We had him for 18 years and the Air Force had him for 14 years," said Dr. Stagner. "That makes you and us members of the same family."

Sergeant Stagner's SFS family at Eielson honored him at the memorial with a long standing Security Forces tradition--guardmount. SFS members' begin their duty day standing in a formation in front of their flight sergeant, flight leader, first sergeant or commander. During this time pertinent information is passed as well as roll is called.

Captain Bodge called for Defenders to fall in for guardmount and told Delta Flight, Sergeant Stagner's flight, to sound off. The quiet chapel was filled with the calling of flight member's names as they responded immediately by loudly stating "Here Sir" or after a name was called Captain Bodge would simply state "Deployed."

Then came when Captain Bodge called for Sergeant Stagner and the lack of an answer weighed heavily on the room. His name was called a second time "Staff Sgt. Brandon Stagner" and then finally a third "Staff Sgt. Brandon K. Stagner." Sobs could be heard throughout the chapel in a moment that seemed to pierce many hearts. Sergeant Stagner wasn't there, he was gone but from hearing his dad and his security forces brethren speak you could sense that he would never be gone from their hearts. A final salute was rendered by SFS and then Taps was played.