Mainer’s son killed in crash had college plans

PORT CLYDE – Marine Corps Cpl. Brian M. Kennedy, one of two men with Maine ties who died in a helicopter crash in Kuwait, was a hydraulics mechanic who wanted to return to college.

Kennedy, 25, was the son of Melissa Derbyshire and stepson of John Derbyshire, both of Port Clyde. His father, Mark Kennedy, lives in Houston.

Brian Kennedy was one of four U.S. Marines and eight British Marines killed when their helicopter went down nine miles from the Iraqi border about 7:30 p.m. EST Thursday – Friday morning in Kuwait.

The helicopter was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Kennedy was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Just before 7 a.m. Friday in Maine, three U.S. Marines showed up at the Derbyshires’ waterfront home on Horse Point Road in Port Clyde to inform the family. But family members had already learned the news, said John Derbyshire, who spoke for the family Friday.

Kennedy’s mother was too distraught to speak with reporters. Melissa Derbyshire teaches yoga classes at the new Midcoast Recreation Center in Rockport.

Kennedy’s older sister, Gretchen, had found out about her brother’s death through her father and had called her mother with the news, Derbyshire said. The officers spent about an hour at the Port Clyde home.

“He loved this home,” Derbyshire said, even though Brian had visited Port Clyde just three times. “He loved San Diego, too.”

Kennedy was stationed in San Diego before the war began. Derbyshire said his stepson had a steady girlfriend there. The last time the Derbyshires saw Brian was Super Bowl weekend, the last weekend in January.

Born in the Chicago area, Brian Kennedy graduated from Glenbrook South High School in Glenville, Ill., before attending Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and Texas Tech University in Lubbock for one year each.

Derbyshire was not certain about the length of his stepson’s military enlistment, but said he had about 18 months to go before he would have been discharged.

He said his stepson wanted to return to college. He had been studying engineering.

Joining the Marines “was just what he wanted to do at the time,” Derbyshire said, but Brian did not intend to make it a career. His job in the military was as a hydraulics mechanic, he said.

“It seems to be a war that probably needs to be done,” John Derbyshire said Friday. “I hate to see the sacrifices that we all give. Hopefully, there’s not many others. If it brings peace to the world, I’m all for it.”