130 Honor Afghan War Casualty

Army Major's Optimism, Service to Country Remembered

As a cold breeze tugged at their coats, they lined up under a mottled gray sky yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery to say goodbye to a man who was many things to many people: husband, father, son, friend and soldier.

More than 130 mourners came to honor Maj. Brian M. Mescall, 33, of Hopkinton, Mass. The Army officer died Jan. 9 in Afghanistan's Zabul province after a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle in Jaldak, according to the Department of Defense.

Also killed were Spec. Joseph M. Hernandez, 24, of Hammond, Ind., and Sgt. Jason R. Parsons, 24, of Lenoir, N.C. The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, based at Hohenfels, Germany.

Hernandez was buried at Arlington on Friday, and Mescall was brought to a neighboring grave site yesterday. Lined up between the two graves were wreaths, potted flowers and a flower-filled vase.

Mescall spoke to the New York Daily News in July 2003 as he surveyed the wreckage of a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a Humvee in Baghdad. He said the attack was "one of those things that you fear in a way that you fear you will lose your edge. Partially, it's a wake-up call."

He graduated in 1997 from the Citadel, the military college in South Carolina, with a degree in history, according to the school.

His wife told the Boston Globe that her husband was a funny and talkative man, who liked to cook, surprise his wife with flowers and take their son camping.

"He was always a very positive person, very energetic, very optimistic, and very friendly and sweet," Chi-un Mescall told the Globe shortly after his death.

The Mescalls and their 6-year-old son, Nathan, lived in Alabama when he wasn't stationed abroad. He married his wife in 2001 while stationed in Korea, and he loved to cook Italian and Korean recipes.

"We are devastated by the loss of Maj. Mescall, Sgt. Parsons and Cpl. Hernandez," said Brig. Gen. David R. Hogg, commander of the 7th U.S. Army Joint Multinational Training Command, according to an Army release. "But we are also profoundly proud and humbled by their service and their sacrifice in the defense of our nation and the Afghan people."

Lt. Col. Matt Pawlikowski, an Army chaplain, spoke of heaven and savior, scripture and prayer.

"With faith and hope in eternal life, let us assist him with our prayers," Pawlikowski said.

Mourners bowed their heads in unison as Pawlikowski spoke in a booming voice that overpowered the honking of Canada geese overhead and the roar of planes departing Reagan National Airport.

Mescall's family was given the option to bury him with full military honors but chose to forgo the additional elements to bury him at the earliest possible date, said Kaitlin Horst, cemetery spokeswoman.

Flags were presented to Mescall's wife, son and parents, Margaret and John Mescall. After receiving her flag, Chi-un Mescall looked down and held a tissue against her eyes for several moments. Army Secretary Pete Geren went down on his left knee to offer his condolences.