Kentucky police officer, Sergeant Brett Benton, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 4th June 2011.
Sgt. Benton resigned from his police job in May and went to Afghanistan as a private contractor teaching police tactics to Afghan National Police recruits.
Sgt. Benton was killed from the blast of a roadside bomb. He had been in Afghanistan only a few weeks.
His longtime friend, Toby Coyle, told local news: "After high school he went to the National Guard, and then while he was still in the Guard he worked at the state police post in Richmond as a dispatcher," Coyle said, "and then he worked for the Nicholasville Police Department, and then he went on to the Kenton County Police Department, where he left there as a sergeant."
OMG this is horrible. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I saw Brett at the airport in Atlanta, we were heading to PAST training. I could tell he was a guy who seemed to have it together. It wasn’t until Memphis that I actually got to visit with him. His personality and character made him a pleasure to be around. He was from Kentucky and very proud of that.
ReplyDeleteI have found that there are always certain individuals in a group that accentuate the qualities of others. Brett was definitely one of those individuals in our group. He had a peaceful determination about him and a hell of a smile.
I only knew Brett for a short time, and it was certainly my pleasure. He caught me the night before I pushed out from Kabul to wish me luck. I will always remember him and that night. I know Brett’s impact here would have been far reaching, as I’m sure it was throughout his life. In fact, it had already started. My heart goes out to his wife, family, and friends. I can only imagine their loss.
Brett finished his final chapter in life here in Afghanistan, but at least he was writing it. I have a feeling Brett had a hand in writing most of his.
Rest in peace my friend, you will be missed.
Your friend,
Kirk McMurrey
FOB / Lonestar
Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
On behalf of the Benton and Foster family, thank you so much, Kirk, for such kind words. I'm sure his wife, which is my cousin,and the rest of the family would really appreciate it as well. This is definitely a hard time for us all, but he did finish his final chapter doing something he enjoyed and loved.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the prayers and the thoughts you send on angels wings.
Courtney Young
Kirk,That was well put and truly a great testimony to Brett. I had the great opportunity to meet him in Fort Worth before he and the rest of the group deployed to Afghanistan. I probably sat with him for 30 to 40 minutes just talking about the police life and his eagerness to get to Afghanistan to do what he loved and to provide a better life for his family. I found him to be one of the kindest people I had met in quite a while. And yes, he had a smile that would brighten a room. I was at home checking my work email when I saw the DynCorp Notice come through and when I saw his name, I immediately knew who it was. I sat at my kitchen table and just cried for him and his wife. I can only imagine the pain she must be feeling right now. Rest in peace Brett.
ReplyDeleteTammy Corley
DynCorp ANP/MOI Deployment Coordinator
Ft Worth, Texas
Seldom in life do you meet someone who impacts you immediatly with their personality. When you met Brett and were done talking to him after the first time his genuineness was what stuck with you. His personality was such that he never met a stranger, always wore a smile and would give you the shirt off his back litterally, if you needed it. I was privileged to talk with him countless times over the years I knew him, which was always easy since we lived next door to each other, and he always had a wave and a smile each time me or mine passed by. From shooting the bull about politics or talking Kentucky basketball while he sat on his lawnmower and I on my quad, to asking the small favors neighbors sometimes do of each other, he was always happy and smiling. I could write a small novel here about all the great things about Brett, but then again I can hear him laughing now about all the over kill BS I'd be laying on making him sound so wonderful, he was the kind of man who only thought of himself as a normal guy nothing special at all. Only those of us whose lives he touched with kind words and gestures or frienship will ever know it, and he didn't know it at the time, but that was everyone he came into contact with. You meet very few genuine people along the road of life. My neighbor and friend was one of them, and though my world was definitely brightened by knowing him, I'll forever miss seeing him grinning and waving riding his lawnmower.
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