The Denison National Guard Armory was packed Wednesday for the funeral of 22-year-old Sergeant Casey Byers of Schleswig — as new word came out about his brother’s death being a suicide. Byers died June 11th when a bomb exploded beneath his armored Humvee while he was taking part in a clearing mission in Iraq. Byers’ brother, 19-year-old Justin “Paul” Byers, was a member of the U.S. Reserve Army Transportation Company of Sac City that was scheduled to leave for Iraq this fall. Paul’s life was cut short when he was struck and killed by a pickup truck after walking out of a roadside ditch near Vail earlier this week. A preliminary investigation by Crawford County medical examiner Doctor Dennis Crabb revealed that the death appeared to be an “intentional act.” A formal toxicology report is not yet available. Paul was reportedly upset about his brother’ death and the fact that his military unit was scheduled to leave fror Iraq this fall.
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