CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The body of a West Virginia service member returned to the Mountain State on Thursday, more than a week after he was killed in the line of duty.
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Allen Bolyard died on Sept. 3 following a security meeting at a military base in Afghanistan’s Logar Province.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the death was the result of an insider attack.
Bolyard was in his seventh tour of duty at the time. He was a six-time recipient of the Bronze Star.
“What you need to understand is the job that he was conducting was not a job that found him surrounded by large groups of soldiers,” state Sen. Richard Ojeda, D-Logan, said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“I can guarantee you that when he was moving throughout the battlefield, it was probably himself, he had an officer with him, he had a mechanic with him and an interpreter. They were responsible for equipping, preparing and training Afghani police to protect himself for when the Taliban comes.”
Ojeda himself is a veteran of the military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Bolyard’s remains were transported to Taylor County. A viewing is scheduled for Sept. 18 between noon and 8 p.m. at the Donald G. Ford Funeral Home in Grafton. A funeral service will take place at the Message of Freedom Church the following day at noon.