Air Force Staff Sergeant Brian McElroy

Air Force Staff Sergeant Brian Scott McElroy, 28, of San Antonio, Texas, was assigned to the 3rd Security Forces Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. He was killed on January 22, 2006, when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while he was conducting convoy escort duties in the vicinity of Taji, Iraq.

SSgt McElroy graduated from Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio in 1996. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1998 and became the noncommissioned officer in charge of information security for the 3rd Security Forces Squadron. During his final mission, he was selected to drive the convoy’s lead security vehicle - a position requiring strength, skill and sound judgment. SSgt McElroy was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

His wife remembered him as “a remarkable man” who lived with generosity, dedication to service and a mischievous sense of humor. Fellow airman Staff Sergeant Richard Cleary said Brian always made people laugh and wore a gold cross from his mother as a reminder to retain his faith.

SSgt McElroy was survived by his wife and daughter.