Orange soldier killed in ambush believed in the fight
His wife recalls the special spark between them.
By ELLYN PAK
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ORANGE Caitlin Meyer knew a handful of things about the guy she would meet on the blind date: He loved horses, surfing and the color baby blue.
So before she met him, Caitlin bought a stuffed toy horse and dressed it with a blue mini T-shirt. She gave it to the guy – who had just moved to California – as a gift on their first date.
The young man's name was Brandon Meyer. He was a sweet, Christian boy who had finished high school in Texas and moved to Orange County to be closer to the beach. He was book-smart and loved music, baseball and football.
“He's everything I'm not, and I'm everything he's not,” said Caitlin, who grew up in Orange. “It was a spark.”
That spark turned into a romance and marriage. Brandon, who had studied biology at Concordia University in Irvine, joined the Army in January 2007. Caitlin – who had previously enlisted in the Army – was medically discharged due to asthma.
The newlyweds moved to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo., in July. About five months later, Brandon was sent to Iraq for his first deployment.
“He liked fighting for what he believed in,” Caitlin said. “He wanted to re-enlist later.”
But before he left for Iraq in December, he told his wife what he'd like at his funeral. He wanted to be buried by the ocean. He wanted guests to wear baby blue and sing “Amazing Grace.” He envisioned a memorial with full military honors and a 21-gun salute.
But before he left for Iraq in December, he told his wife what he'd like at his funeral. He wanted to be buried by the ocean. He wanted guests to wear baby blue and sing “Amazing Grace.” He envisioned a memorial with full military honors and a 21-gun salute.
Pfc. Brandon Meyer, 20, who always stuck by his convictions, wanted to be buried in uniform.
“What's going on over there is real,” Caitlin said. “He told me that if he died, he wanted to die doing what he believed in.”
“What's going on over there is real,” Caitlin said. “He told me that if he died, he wanted to die doing what he believed in.”
Brandon, a saw gunner, called his wife two or three times a week between patrols in Mosul. He wouldn't tell her much, though Caitlin knew in his voice when something was wrong. Brandon had dodged bullets, including one that flew by his head when he looked out a window in a house soldiers had raided.
About a week later, last Monday, Brandon's vehicle was blasted by a roadside bomb. Insurgents then ambushed the vehicle with gunfire from a mosque in Mosul. Brandon, along with four others, were killed. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson.
Caitlin had a feeling something happened the night Brandon died. She was with two friends when she had an urge to listen to depressing, mellow music. She had no idea of the attack in Mosul.
Soon after, two soldiers came to her house. Her grandmother, Jeanette Calvin, called her to come home.
Soon after, two soldiers came to her house. Her grandmother, Jeanette Calvin, called her to come home.
Caitlin is now planning Brandon's funeral at the church where they got married and a burial by the ocean.
“You go into it knowing it could happen, but at the same time you think, ‘Did this just happen to me?' ” she said. “I'm a 20-year-old widow. That's not normal. That's not the way it should be. At all.”
Meyer, who was promoted to specialist after his death, would have turned 21 today. He is also survived by his father, Terry; mother, Genia; and younger sister, Desiree.
On Feb. 11, Caitlin will bury her husband with that stuffed toy horse.
On Feb. 11, Caitlin will bury her husband with that stuffed toy horse.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3788 or epak@ocregister.com