NEWPORT — The funeral for Army Capt. Jay Brainard has been scheduled for Saturday, June 16, at Crosby & Neal Funeral Home on Main Street in Newport, a family member said Tuesday.

Brainard’s aunt Nancy White of Atkinson said arraignments are being coordinated by Brainard’s wife, Emily, who has returned to Germany, where her husband was stationed and where she is a kindergarten classroom aide. White said Emily Brainard will return to Maine for the funeral.

Jay Brainard, 26, of Newport, was killed May 28 when the AH-64 helicopter he was piloting crashed near Kabul, Afghanistan.

White said Brainard will be buried near his grandfather, Leonard Bresnahan, a Marine who served in the Pacific theater in World War II. The cemetery is in nearby Plymouth.

Capt. Shannon Cotta, public affairs officer for the Maine Army National Guard, said Brainard’s remains are due to arrive Thursday, June 14, at Bangor International Airport.

A military funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 16, at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, 64 Free St., Dexter, with the Rev. Paul Murray officiating, according to Brainard’s obituary. Military committal services will be held at Sawyer Cemetery in Plymouth following the services.

The helicopter crash is under investigation. Initial reports suggest there was no enemy activity in the area at the time. Brainard was one of two pilots killed in the crash. He was the brigade adjutant and had deployed on one previous combat tour during his three years and 11 months of service, according to a news release.

Brainard was a 2004 graduate of Foxcroft Academy and a 2008 graduate of the University of Maine.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

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