SSG Brian F. Piercy, U.S. Army
March 11, 1983 – July 19, 2010
Brian grew up in Clovis, California, with his twin and younger brother. Imaginative, curious, and energetic, he spent his childhood inventing adventures with action figures, riding his bike, and playing games like street hockey and capture the flag. He loved family trips to the mountains and the beach. At nine, he began piano lessons and was instantly hooked. At Buchanan High School, he excelled in both academics and music, playing keyboard and percussion. He carried the third bass drum in the marching band and performed in halftime shows and winter percussion competitions across the state. After graduating in 2001, he studied liberal studies at Fresno Pacific University for two years before pausing to serve his country. He enlisted in the Army six months after his twin brother; his younger brother joined two months later.
He completed basic, infantry, and airborne training before joining the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Known for his professionalism, precision, and deep care for his soldiers, he rose quickly to staff sergeant and became a weapons squad leader with A Company, 2-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He served a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2007 and returned for a second, 12-month deployment in August 2009. On July 19, 2010, just weeks before the end of his second tour, Brian was killed by an improvised explosive device while leading his squad on a dismounted patrol in the Arghandab River Valley.
His legacy lives on through his wife, Christina, as well as his extended family, friends, and fellow soldiers. He was the seventh of eight Buchanan High School graduates to lose his life in the Global War on Terror. The school honors all eight in a memorial garden and remembers “the Buchanan Eight” at every home football game. At each graduation, eight doves are released—one by one—as their names are read.
