Sole Surviving Brother

American soldier kneeling at a veterans grave on Memorial Day.

This post is a few days late but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Navy SEAL, Green Beret killed in Afghanistan, leaving Marine brother ‘Sole Survivor’

As Beau came of age he would again follow his brothers — this time into the military, into the world of combat, into Afghanistan.

But Jeremy and then Ben wouldn’t return. In just over two years, one explosion and one firefight would leave Beau the oldest living Wise brother, earning him the Department of Defense’s unwelcome designation of “Sole Survivor.”

Beau immortalized his brothers in the book “Three Wise Men,” a memoir co-written with author Tom Sileo.

They describe the brothers coming of age in the Wise home, with inter-sibling rivalry and criticism more often than not revealing itself to be a form of caring.

Later…

Beau has given his big brothers new life in “Three Wise Men” — their mischievousness, their seriousness, their heroism.

Ben Wise was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest military medal for valor. Jeremy Wise was posthumously awarded the CIA’s equivalent decoration, the Intelligence Star, with his name etched in the agency’s Book of Honor.

Beau left active-duty service in 2016. He and his wife, Amber, have since adopted a son and daughter.

“Even though our kids never got to meet my brothers,” Beau wrote in the afterword of “Three Wise Men,” “they will most certainly grow up learning about the heroism of Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Ben.”

Very moving story.

Category: Afghanistan, Ranger, Silver Star