Harbor Beach medic dies in Afghanistan

HARBOR BEACH, Mich. (AP) - A former high school class president in Michigan who became an Army combat medic and was considering a career in health care was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend during an insurgent attack, the military and his family's pastor said Monday.

Army Pfc. Brian J. Backus, 21, died Saturday in Kandahar province after being wounded when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire, the Department of Defense said in a statement. Backus, who grew up in the Thumb community of Harbor Beach, was deployed to Afghanistan in March.

"Brian was a beautiful young man, and this is really hitting us hard," Rev. Paula M. Timm, pastor at Harbor Beach United Methodist Church, told The Saginaw News.

Backus was president of his 2008 graduating class at Harbor Beach High School and was looking into health care as a profession, Timm said.

"He was a high achiever, a smart young man," she said.

Before he was deployed overseas, he attended church in uniform and received the congregation's blessings, Timm said.

Backus was part of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum in New York. The military listed his address in Saginaw County's Saginaw Township.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered flags in the state lowered to half-staff Thursday in honor of Backus, WSYR-TV reported.

Backus joined the Army in June 2010, and underwent training at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, according to a statement from Fort Drum.

Backus is survived by a 2-year-old son Jack, brother Paul and parents Alan and Anne Backus, the newspaper reported. Ramsey Funeral Home in Harbor Beach was handling funeral arrangements, which hadn't been finalized as of late Monday.

His father works for DTE Energy Co. in Harbor Beach, and his mother works for the Harbor Beach Area District Library.

"We're all in shock," said library clerk Cindy A. Stevenson. "Brian used to come in the library and harass his mom a little bit and play around, so he had a sense of humor."

Before his deployment, "I told him to be safe," she said. "He said he was going to try."