Brian P Prening
Date of Death: 11/12/2004
Age: 24
Incident Location: Babil province, Iraq
Hometown: Sheboygan
Branch of Service: Marines
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division
Unit Base: Chicago, Illinois
Marine Cpl. Brian Prening, 24, of Sheboygan, Wis.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve, Chicago, was killed November 12, 2004 by small-arms fire south of Baghdad as his unit was attacked by more than 70 insurgents.
Prening's father, Bill Prening, said after the service that his son was killed as he helped a fellow Marine whose machine gun had malfunctioned. “He was under heavy fire, and Brian was giving him cover fire and trying to go over and help him get the machine gun going again and that’s when he was killed,” Bill Prening said. The other Marine survived. He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with the combat “V” device for heroism.
Brian Prening was born in July 1980, and grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, with his twin brother, Bill, and his little sister, Ann. He attended Plymouth High School, where he played track and field, football, and wrestling. After graduating in 1998, he completed the tool and die program at Lakeshore Technical College, receiving his associate degree.
In 1999, Prening, looking to challenge himself, joined the Marines with a couple of his friends. He completed boot camp and went into the reserve. He then started work Kohler Co., as a machine set-up man with his father, a job he held until June 2004, when he was called back into active duty to serve in Iraq.
Before leaving, Prening married Amy Urning in August 2004. Urning had a son, Alex, from a previous relationship, whom Prening loved as his own. At the time of his deployment, the newlyweds were also expecting their first child together, Brian Jr.
Prening's father, Bill Prening, said after the service that his son was killed as he helped a fellow Marine whose machine gun had malfunctioned. “He was under heavy fire, and Brian was giving him cover fire and trying to go over and help him get the machine gun going again and that’s when he was killed,” Bill Prening said. The other Marine survived. He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with the combat “V” device for heroism.
Brian Prening was born in July 1980, and grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, with his twin brother, Bill, and his little sister, Ann. He attended Plymouth High School, where he played track and field, football, and wrestling. After graduating in 1998, he completed the tool and die program at Lakeshore Technical College, receiving his associate degree.
In 1999, Prening, looking to challenge himself, joined the Marines with a couple of his friends. He completed boot camp and went into the reserve. He then started work Kohler Co., as a machine set-up man with his father, a job he held until June 2004, when he was called back into active duty to serve in Iraq.
Before leaving, Prening married Amy Urning in August 2004. Urning had a son, Alex, from a previous relationship, whom Prening loved as his own. At the time of his deployment, the newlyweds were also expecting their first child together, Brian Jr.