And it's Friday morning which means it is the time again for Story Corps. This project has been capturing the stories of people all across America. And today we have the memories of a fallen marine, shared with us by his 2 older sisters.

I'm Jenny Francis.

I'm Rebecca Fuller.
The Little Brother Who Made the World Bigger

Two years ago today, Lt. Travis John Fuller and 30 others were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed in a sandstorm. Small in stature, he left a big impression on his older sisters and family.


We are here to remember our brother, First Lieutenant Travis John Fuller who was killed in Iraq.

He was born immature, as he would put it, he was born premature. And he was always a little guy. Even in the marines, we'd get pictures of him. And, oh these 6-foot marines and there he was, you know, 5. 7.

Even though he was the younger brother, we are the older sisters. We are always looking up to Travis, trying to win his approval. When I knew Travis was coming to visit, the first thing in my head was always: we have to do something cool. But he didn't care. No, no, he would make a good time wherever he was. It didn't matter. He would have a friend there in minutes.

When mom and dad went to one of his graduations, he took the time to introduce mom and dad to the janitor who played the piano and the cooks in the kitchen. He took the time to notice the people around him.


How did you feel when you found out that Travis had enlisted in the marines?

I actually remember this very clearly. And it's one of the things that, ur(er), I regret the most. He came home and he had some pamphlets, talking about the marines, and I just gave him a real hard time about it. And he got up and stormed out of the room and went down to the basement, and it was then that I realized how dedicated he felt about joining the marines. And I went down and talked to him, and let him know that, I may not understand his choice but I'm still gonna love him and be proud of him. And I always hoped that it wasn't the memory of him running down to the basement that he thought of, but of all the other things that I tried to do to let him know that I was proud of him for everything.

We found out that Travis had been killed in a helicopter crash in January 2005. It was probably the worst day of my life. My parents found out the news first and, then, ur(er), the next morning came out to get me and, ur(er), then we drove up to see you, to, you know, deliver the unfortunate news in person. And, and we were sitting upstairs in this pretty small room.

And it suddenly hit me that our whole family fit in this tiny little room. And it was just us. That was it, that was everybody. And along with losing him, we were losing what our family could be in the future, too. We were losing the wife that he might have, our new sister-in-law. We were losing any children that he might have to add to our family. Everyone was in that room and it was so small.

Rebecca Fuller with her sister Jenny Francis remembering their brother First Lieutenant Travis John Fuller. Two years ago today Lieutenant Fuller and 30 others were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed in a sandstorm. This Story Corps conversation like all the others will be archived at the Library of Congress and you can schedule your interview by going to NPR

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