SKOWHEGAN — Jay Brainard’s wife, Emily, said Thursday her husband was a professional soldier who prided himself on his leadership role in the military.
“He made taking care of soldiers and families his number one priority and I know he touched countless lives,” she said. “He was lucky to be able to follow his dream to become an officer. Jay was my best friend, the love of my life, and my hero.”
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John R. “Jay” Brainard, 26, of Newport, a captain in the U.S. Army, was killed Monday when the AH-64 helicopter he was piloting crashed near Kabul, Afghanistan.
His wife, in an interview using Facebook Thursday morning, said she was returning to Germany where her husband was stationed and where she is a kindergarten classroom aide.
She had flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to meet her husband’s body, according to family member Donald White, of Atkinson. She was also to meet with Jay Brainard’s father John Brainard II, he said.
White, with his wife, Nancy, raised Jay from age 11 until he graduated from Foxcroft Academy in 2004.
White said funeral arraignments will be announced next week.
“He was an amazing person and I am thankful for the almost seven years we had with each other,” Emily Brainard said. “He helped make me the person I am today. We made so many amazing memories together and loved each other more than most people do in a long lifetime.
“It is my hope that his memory and accomplishments are never forgotten.”
The couple met when they were students at the University of Maine, where Jay Brainard became a commissioned officer through the university’s ROTC program. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Maine Army National Guard Maj. Darryl Lyon, commander of 11th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team in Waterville, said he was a recruiting officer at the university when Brainard was in the ROTC program.
Lyon said Brainard was a man who could be trusted and relied upon.
“He was just the epitome of what all young men should aspire to be — intelligent, athletic, articulate, successful, dedicated, patriotic — he hit all those nails on the head,” Lyon said. “When you’re recruiting a young man for the United States Army, Jay Brainard was the perfect candidate to be an army officer.”
Brainard and another soldier who was in the helicopter when it crashed were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Ansbach-Katterbach, Germany.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but initial reports indicate there was no enemy activity in the area at the time, according to a release from the International Security Assistance Force, of which the two soldiers were members.
Brainard was the brigade adjutant and had deployed on one previous combat tour during his three years and eleven months of service, according to a release.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
dharlow@centralmaine.com
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