Brian Matthews of Columbia, Md., had served in Iraq and was home for Thanksgiving and had just signed up to be an organ donor and his organs helped save six other people. Matthews graduated from Howard High School in 2003. He was an Eagle Scout and served in Ramadi, Iraq, as part of the Fox Company 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment. Brian called his mother from the plane Thanksgiving morning, gleefully reporting that Southwest Airlines had let him board first in San Diego and thanked the uniformed Marine over the intercom for his service. On Thanksgiving night, he had a second date with a woman he had been text-messaging from his post at Camp Pendleton, Calif. After a traditional dinner at his parents' house, he was picked up shortly after 10 p.m. by Jennifer. Ten minutes later, a Nissan Sentra driven by a man with a blood alcohol level that was four times the legal limit slammed into Ms. Bower's stopped Toyota Corolla at a red light on Route 175 at Route 108. Mathews' great-grandfather died on a British submarine in World War I, his mother said. One grandfather lost his leg in World War II and the other, a Navy pilot, was killed in a crash at sea in 1958. He was 21.
Brian Matthews of Columbia, Md., had served in Iraq and was home for Thanksgiving and had just signed up to be an organ donor and his organs helped save six other people. Matthews graduated from Howard High School in 2003. He was an Eagle Scout and served in Ramadi, Iraq, as part of the Fox Company 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment. Brian called his mother from the plane Thanksgiving morning, gleefully reporting that Southwest Airlines had let him board first in San Diego and thanked the uniformed Marine over the intercom for his service. On Thanksgiving night, he had a second date with a woman he had been text-messaging from his post at Camp Pendleton, Calif. After a traditional dinner at his parents' house, he was picked up shortly after 10 p.m. by Jennifer. Ten minutes later, a Nissan Sentra driven by a man with a blood alcohol level that was four times the legal limit slammed into Ms. Bower's stopped Toyota Corolla at a red light on Route 175 at Route 108. Mathews' great-grandfather died on a British submarine in World War I, his mother said. One grandfather lost his leg in World War II and the other, a Navy pilot, was killed in a crash at sea in 1958. He was 21.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
