Died: February 27, 2011
Age: 21
From: Las Vegas, NV
Combat Zone: Afghanistan

Army Spc. Brian Tabada of Las Vegas was killed Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, in northeastern Afghanistan after insurgents ambushed his mounted patrol using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The attack occurred in the Darah-ye Pech district of Afghanistan’s Konar province. Brian was born May 25, 1989, in Olangapo, Philippines. Brian attended Shadow Ridge and Arbor View High Schools in Las Vegas and joined the Army in August 2008. He was a fire-support specialist, or “fister,” trained in calling in aircraft and artillery to quell attacks on NATO troops. Brian was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. Brian is survived by his mother and her husband, his father and his wife, two sisters, one brother, a grandmother, an aunt and two uncles.