1958 ~ 2003
Sgt. First Class Brett Wallace Thorpe, U.S. Army Ret., passed away on May 29, 2003, in Kabul, Afghanistan while preforming his duty as bodyguard to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Brett was an employee of Dyncorp, which holds the U.S. State Department contract to protect the Afghan President.
Brett was born on October 19, 1958, in San Diego, California to Jack Charles Thorpe and Margaret Widtsoe Wallace, now residents of St. George, Utah. While stationed at Ft. Bragg, Brett met his future wife, Jeannie Mickow of Selma, North Carolina. They were married on July 1, 1983 in Dillon, South Carolina. They were sealed in the St. George Utah temple on December 31, 1999.
He retired from the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis, Washington after a distinguished career as a Special Forces soldier with the First Special Forces Group Airborne. During one of his tours as a Special Forces soldier, he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for heroism. After retirement he and his family moved to Cedar City, Utah. Prior to his service in Afghanistan, he was a junior at Southern Utah University majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. Brett served as Young Men's President in the Spanish Trails Ward.
Brett is survived by his wife Jeannie and his two sons, Christopher Brett and Brandon Joseph Thorpe. He is also survived by his parents and three sisters: Allison T. Ward of Buena Vista, Virginia; Susan T. Ichiho of Los Angeles, California; and Tracy P. Thorpe of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2003 at 11:00 am in the Enoch Stake Center chapel. Visitations will be Wednesday, May 4th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Southern Utah Mortuary, 190 North 300 West, Cedar City, and 9:00-10:30 am at the church prior to the services. Brett will be buried with full military honors at Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George at 3:00 p.m.