Number 101

Kentucky's 101st sacrifice to the maw of the Afghanistan-Iraq clusterfuck - and the first since September 30 - is a 21-year-old from Northern Kentucky.

Pvt. Brandon T. Pickering, 21, of Fort Thomas, Ky., died April 10 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade in Wardak province, Afghanistan, April 8. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Last weekend, there was hope he would survive:

A 2008 graduate of Highlands High School has been hurt in Afghanistan. Sources tell FOX19 that Brandon Pickering, 21, was serving in the infantry in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Friends and family say Pickering was injured in the line of duty either Friday or Saturday. He was transported to Germany for treatment. His family was able to go to Germany to be with him.

The principal of Highlands High School, Bran Robinson, said this is the first time a student from the school has been hurt in Afghanistan.

"Brandon is one of those unassuming young men with a big heart," said Robinson. "It's not something that would be a surprise to those who knew Brandon, people who knew that he would go out there and have that sense of duty and dedication, and that he would give back in such a way."