Ultimate Sacrifice

A former high school class president in Michigan who became an Army combat medic and was considering a career in health care was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend during an insurgent attack.

Army Pfc. Brian J. Backus, 21, he grew up in the Thumb community of Harbor Beach, and was deployed to Afghanistan in March. Backus is survived by a 2-year-old son Jack, brother Paul and parents Alan and Anne

"Brian was a beautiful young man, and this is really hitting us hard," Rev. Paula M. Timm, pastor at Harbor Beach United Methodist Church, where Brian had attended. Before he was deployed overseas, he attended church in uniform and received the congregation's blessings, Timm said.

Backus joined the Army in June 2010, and underwent training at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was part of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum in New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered flags in the state lowered to half staff Thursday in honor of Backus.

Remember Brians family and friends today and if I could say anything to Brians family I would say, Brian is in heaven now. This is not the time for you grieve his death but it’s your time to celebrate his life. Don’t ever forget Brian. I'm sure he wouldn't want to see people cry. He would want you to be happy. So as you lay his body to rest, think back and remember how Brian touched your lives. How he made you laugh and how good Brian was as a person. This is not the moment for you to shed tears but the time to be thankful that you were given the chance to have known a man named Brian. A man who paid the ultimate sacrifice for you and me.