Camp Pendleton Marine, Lance Cpl. Brennan Ching, loved to surprise his 8-year-old brother, Alex Vicary, with unexpected trips to the family home in Colorado. It was en route to one of those surprise homecomings that Ching, 20, was killed in an automobile crash.
On Aug. 15, The Associated Press reports, Ching was riding shotgun in a pickup truck driven by fellow Marine Jesus T. Paredes on I-70 in central Utah when the vehicle veered off the highway. Ching died in the rollover crash. Paredes was hospitalized with unknown injuries.
Ching's and Vicary's mother, Sue Vicary, told the Coloradan Ching was coming home to surprise Alex on his first day of second grade. She explained how much Ching's visits home meant to Alex, who missed his big brother terribly after he joined the Marines and moved to California:
"Every day, Alex would talk about Brennan, whether it was morning, noon or night. At least two or three times, he'd create a new way of making a wish to bring him home. Brennan taught him the things only a big brother could do."
In March of 2013, Ching surprised Alex with an Easter homecoming. The Coloradan was there to capture the reunion on video. Take a look below:
