By MELANIE POOLE / Special to the Reporter

The Veteran of the Week is sponsored by the National Veterans Shrine and Register of Honor at the American Village — honoring America’s veterans and telling the stories of their service and sacrifice for the cause of liberty.

“The American Village is pleased to join the Shelby County Reporter in recognizing Sgt. Brandon Charles Ladner as Veteran of the Week,” American Village founder and CEO Tom Walker said. “He is representative of the hundreds of thousands of Alabamians who have risked it all for the sake of our country and its freedom. To all veterans we owe a debt we can never fully repay.”

Visit the website, Veteransregisterofhonor.com, today and add your loved ones to the Register of Honor. Help us honor, recognize, respect and remember our country’s veterans.

Here are highlights about this week’s Veteran of the Week: Sgt. Brandon Charles Ladner.

Brandon was born in Mississippi in 1987. He served in the United States Marines from 2006 to 2010, during the Afghanistan War. He was a wonderful brother, son, uncle, friend and Marine. He never met a stranger. His laugh was contagious. Brandon was attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham for a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Management. His life mission was to change the VA Hospitals for the better. He made a positive impact on everyone he met. “He will truly be missed. RIP sweet soul!”

In His Own Words: “Semper Fi and Roll Tide! I am born to die on the battlefield with my fellow Marines. Name one war the Marines lost… hold on, I’ll wait… That would be ZERO! No one can take us on!”