PALMER, Mass. (WWLP) – Brian Odiorne graduated from Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School three years ago.
On Wednesday, Odiorne grandfather went to the school to make sure donations in his memory go to the Pathfinder Booster Club to benefit the wrestling and football teams he was on, and the Machine Tool Technology class he was in.
21-year-old Army Private First Class Brian Odiorne died in a non-combat related incident on Monday in Al Anbar Province in Iraq. Word of the loss spread quickly in his hometown of Ware.
Morgan Worthington of Ware said, “Even if you don’t know that person, you know somebody that knows that person and you know that they lost someone that’s close to them, and everybody knows how that feels.”
Odiorne was assigned to the 2nd Battalionn, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and 1st Calvary Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. He entered active duty service as a cannon crewmember in 2015. He was supporting “Operation Inherent Resolve” in Iraq, with the mission to help defeat ISIS.
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Odiorne was well known throughout the area. He was a machine shop student at Pathfinder Regional High School, and he was also on the football team. He graduated in 2014. Whether it be in the hallways at school or out on the football field, he was known as a people pleaser.
Coach Chris Pope said, “He was just “OD” that was his name, I probably didn’t know his name was Brian in four years of knowing him. Everybody liked him…I’m sorry to his family, it’s a real loss.”
Odiorne will be posthumously awarded the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal and overseas ribbon. His death is currently being investigated, and it still has not been made clear to the public how he died.
If you would like to make a donation to the Pathfinder Booster Club in honor of Odiorne, you can send it to Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School at 240 Sykes Street, Palmer, MA 01069, c/o Booster Club.
