BRIAN DERKS // Veterans Day
Every Veterans Day, and lots of days in between since 2005, the Derks family finds its way into my thoughts. Twelve years ago, I covered the funeral of Army Spc. 4th Class Brian Derks for The Muskegon Chronicle. He was only 21 when he was killed in a roadside bombing while on patrol in west of Baghdad. I remember how the small town of White Cloud collectively mourned with his family.
