Their Story
Remembering Brandon Scott Mullins.
U.S. Army SPC Brandon Scott Mullins, 21, of Owensboro, Kentucky, died on August 25, 2011, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device while he was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Brandon was a 2008 graduate of Apollo High School in Owensboro, where he played soccer, baseball, basketball and football growing up before finding his place in hockey, serving as captain of his Owensboro Hockey League team and earning the league's MVP award. He enlisted in the Army in 2010.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, along with the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
At his funeral at Good Shepherd Church in Owensboro, Army Gen. Steve Lyons remembered Brandon as the heart of his platoon and the epitome of service, telling the hundreds gathered that no one needed to wonder whether Brandon's life had made a difference. He is survived by his parents, Tommy and Cathy Mullins; his brother, MSG Shaun Mullins; and his sister, Bethany Mullins Randall.
In 2016 his family established the Brandon Scott Mullins Memorial Foundation in his memory, funding leadership scholarships at Apollo High School and the Owensboro Hockey League and supporting veteran service organizations.