`MY SON WAS A WARRIOR SOUTHLAND SOLDIER AMONG THREE KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN BY FRIENDLY FIRE.

Byline: Staff Writer

FRAZIER PARK _ The father of U.S. Army special-forces Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, took solace Wednesday in knowing his son died serving his country.

``He was a warrior,'' said the father, Brian D. Prosser. ``He was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing. He was willing to pay the price for serving his country. He loved being an American.''

Prosser, 28, two other Americans and five Afghan soldiers were killed Wednesday when an errant 2,000-pound ``smart'' bomb dropped by a U.S. warplane missed its target in the hills near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Twenty other Americans and an undetermined number of Afghans were injured.

The other soldiers who died were identified as Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, of Cheshire, Mass.

All were members of the Army's 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.

``He was in a war-fighting outfit,'' said his father, also a retired Army veteran and a former Los Angeles city firefighter who was paralyzed from the neck down three years ago in an accident.

The last time the father talked to his son, a devoted Army veteran, was two days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His unit left the United States two days later, Prosser said.

One of four siblings, Brian C. Prosser, a former football team captain at Maricopa High School in Taft near Bakersfield, served in the Army 10 years.

``He's my role model,'' Prosser's 22-year-old brother, Jarudd, told The Associated Press.

``In a war, people die,'' Jarudd Prosser said. ``It puts a lot of things in perspective. It really makes me think when you care about someone, you have to tell them that. When I heard he was going overseas, I left nothing unsaid.''

Prosser is survived by his wife, Shawna, and two other brothers, Mike and Reed, as well as his parents, Brian and Ingrid Prosser.

Friends said Prosser, whose father once ran a local welding business, was also known by virtually everyone in the tiny town nestled in a section of the Los Padres National Forest where the elevation ranges from 4,000 to 6,000 feet and where streets, many still unpaved, are named trails. The community and several surrounding villages are home to about 8,400 people.

``He was a good guy, very gutsy and patriotic,'' said Tina Vallone, a friend of the family for more than 30 years. ``He was the kind of kid who would do whatever needed to be done, I think that's why he went into the special forces.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser was one of three U.S. soldiers killed Wednesday by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

(2) Brian Posser holds a picture of his son, Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, who was one of three U.S. soldiers killed by friendly fire Wednesday as a bomb missed its target in Afghanistan.

Henry Barrios/The Bakersfield Californian