As a member of the U.S. Navy, a 21-year-old Cobb County man had traveled all over the world. Iceland, Greece, Morocco. Brandon Marcellus Haith already had been there, his father said.
“You’ve done so much at a young age,” Michael Haith recently told his son.
But after returning safely each time to home soil, Brandon Haith died early Saturday when he was shot in Virginia Beach, Va., where he was stationed. He had just returned home two weeks ago to visit his family, his father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“He was a giver,” Michael Haith said. “All who knew him loved him. His life was cut short, but he already made an impact on this community and his friends and the Navy.”
Brandon Haith, of Powder Springs, was a quartermaster in the Navy and planned to re-enlist when his current four-year commitment was up, his father said. Haith had followed both parents into the Navy, enlisting before he even graduated from McEachern High School, his father said.
Those plans came to a sudden end when the sailor was gunned down. About 12:40 a.m. Saturday, Haith was found lying in the street at the intersection of 24th Street and Barberton Drive in Virginia Beach, Officer P.C. D’Orio said. Haith, who was stationed in Norfolk, died at the scene, D’Orio said. The shooting remained under investigation Monday.
Steven Joyce told 13 News Now he had served with Haith, and had carved a cross in a tree as a way to remember him.
“We hung out a lot, he’s not really the partyer type, he’s just like a silent kid, hard-worker,” Joyce said.
Michael Haith said his family is relying on their faith to get through the devastating loss. Haith said he knows for sure his son knew how proud he was of him.
“I love my son very much, and I was very proud of him and I told him all the time,” Haith said.
A vigil was held Sunday afternoon in the same area where Haith was found. Funeral plans had not been finalized Monday afternoon.
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