Tournament honors soldier who died 10 years ago in Iraq

The city of Terrell came together over the weekend to honor the memory of a fallen soldier killed 10 years ago in Iraq.

Red, white and blue balloons floated to the sky about the soccer fields where Staff Sgt. Sean Brady Berry grew up playing soccer.

“He started playing on these fields when he was probably 6 years old,” said Jenny Berry, his mother.

Brady joined the National Guard in 1999. He was a sniper for the scout team of the U.S. Army.

“When soldiers go over there, they’re prompted to write letters to their families in case they don’t come home. I re-read that letter this morning. He said he didn’t do it for any other reason expect that he was proud of his country and loved to be an American,” his mother said.

For the past nine years there has been a soccer tournament held in Brady’s honor. This year organizers surprised his mother by marking the 10th anniversary of his death.

“We started calling it the Brady Berry Memorial Tournament because he had touched so many lives in soccer in this community,” said Joe Stephens, president of the Terrell Soccer Association.

The tournament raises money for scholarships and Jenny knows her son would be happy about that. When he was in Iraq he had 1,000 soccer balls shipped to him so he could teach young Iraqi children to play soccer.

“You’re always afraid someone is going to forget your child,” Jenny said. “This is a great town. I should have known they wouldn’t let it go by.”