Brandon R Sapp

Lake Worth, Florida

August 14, 2004

Greetings,
I would like to make a correction concerning the death of SPC Brandon Sapp. I was the Psyop element with the QRF that went out to recover his Bradley and to find out who was responsible for planting the IED in the road at the base of a small canal bridge. It was a 500 lb bomb. The correction is that he was not killed in Najaf, but about 4 miles north of Taji, Iraq. His platoon (part of Apache Troop) was left behind to provide a small token of armored support for the 39th BCT, Arkansas NG to which 2/7 Cav was attached in Baghdad. The rest of 2/7 went to Najaf a few days before as opres for 3 Corps. We knew that the individuals responsible were operating out of a small village nearby called Tarmiyah, but of course nobody in the AO knew anything. We knew those we questioned were lying by their body language, but they were protecting the guilty because of tribal/family loyalty. There was nothing we could do about it. I spent a go od part of that day getting nowhere with the locals. It was one of the more infuriating and frustrating days of my time there. I have since returned home. I hope this kind of info is what you are looking for.
MSG Douglas Urbanski
345th TPC
2 POG, USAR

PS: We shelled the snot out of the area a few days later trying to get the perpetrators. I was on a mission with Apache troop and we were on hand to watch--it was quite satisfying.

Back home I talk alot about my friend Brandon Sapp who died in Iraq, back in 2004. My bestfriend Paul just recently shared that he had looked up Sapps name on the internet and found a story about Sapp. Sapp had a chance to get out of service before deployment, but he maned up and chose to go. I was not with Sapp at the time of his death even though we were in the same company but different platoons. I had been sent home meda vac out of Taji for acute stress disorder, which is now called PTSD. I cannot go into details about those missions. I will say that I have been isolating and drinking mass amounts of alcohol over my whole experience in Iraq. I am now in recovery presently 2010.
Sapp and I became friends just as we were about to head off to JRTC. One night in the barracks after playin war games for days Sapp offered to cut my hair, and I cut his hair. Sapp also came over to my house and helped me move some furniture into a Uhaul before deployment. In return I bought us beers. Sapp was to young to buy alcohol. I remember in a mass formation the words from a 1st SGT that if there is under aged soldiers in the barracks someone from A.co 2-7 CAV better buy them there beers before we deployed. everyone understood this. I was back at FortHood TX, going through counseling sessions, group therapy, and seeing psych docs when I heard about Sapps death. I wanted to die right then. I will never forget Brandon Sapp and will continue talk about him and all my other brothers at the dinner tables during thanksgiving, christmas, holidays, etc. I am trying to lead a good life cause Sapp would of wanted me to.