Sgt. Piercy’s casket brought to Valley for funeral

Services for Army Staff Sgt. Brian Piercy, who was killed in Afghanistan last week, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Peoples Church in Fresno.

Piercy’s body arrived by charter plane Thursday morning at Fresno-Yosemite International Airport and was transported with an honor guard to Boice Funeral Home in Clovis.

Piercy was the seventh graduate of Buchanan High to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Friends and family remembered him as a gifted student and marching band drummer who went to Fresno Pacific University before deciding to go into the military.

By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee