KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho- A Purple Heart recipient is being welcomed to Coeur d’Alene with surprise escort by Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Friday.
Sergeant First Class Brian Sharp and his wife Army will be returning to the Coeur d’Alene area to visit family after Sharp was injured serving in Afghanistan.
Earlier this year Sharp and his fellow Green Berets were on a joint mission serving in Afghanistan when they were ambushed with a surprise attack by their own Afghan support team.
During the course of that battle, two soldiers, Sergeant First Class Will Lindsay and Specialist Joseph Collette were killed. Sharp was shot multiple times, and narrowly escaped death. Sharp was extracted and has since been in the U.S. recovering.
Sharp shared his time in the hospital with his wife and their daughter, Audrey. Together, Audrey learned to walk, and Sharp re-learned to walk.
However, sacrifices made overseas grew during Sharp’s on-going recovery.
Two more Green Berets from Brian’s team, Master Sgt. Michael Riley and Sgt. James Johnson, were killed in Afghanistan. In a more recent mission, Sgt. Major James “Ryan” Sartor was killed in battle. Two more Army Special Forces Soldiers, Master Sgt. Luis F. DeLeon-Figueroa and Master Sgt. Jose J. Gonzalez were killed in battle in Afghanistan. They were not from Sharp’s group, but they were part of the same mission.
Sharp endured an unimaginable pain, both physically and mentally, from serving overseas.
To honor these men, their families, and all that they have given, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office will provide an escort from Interstate 90 at Stateline to Highway 95 then north to Lancaster Road. The fire department is also going to display an American Flag.
Supporters and community members will also be waving banners and flags all along Highway 95 to welcome Sharp.
