KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers stories involving downtown Kansas City, Missouri, up to North Kansas City. Share your story idea with Grant.
A local brewery is raising a glass - and funds - to honor the fallen involved in one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Callsign Brewing is releasing a commemorative Extortion 1‑7 beer this weekend, alongside t‑shirts and glassware, to honor those killed when a CH‑47 Chinook helicopter was shot down in August 2011. Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Special Ops Survivors, which supports families of fallen special operations personnel.
The Extortion 1‑7 beer commemorates the mission - one of the costliest of the war - when 30 Americans, including five crew members, were among 38 people killed while supporting U.S. and Afghan forces.
One of the pilots aboard that helicopter was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols of Gardner. His wife, Mary, says the effort is about more than beer.
“So many years later, I still can’t believe people come to support us,” she said. “It just shows how much they meant to everybody. I just want him to be remembered.”
Callsign founder Steve Sirois said the beer was previously brewed by Torn Label Brewing, but his team was eager to carry on the tradition.
“People came out of the woodwork to support it,” he said. “It’s keeping that memory alive. It means a lot to the family.”
Bryan’s son Braydon hopes the release encourages reflection. “Keep those memories intact,” he said. “Take a small moment of introspection. Think about your family, and don’t take them for granted.”
Nichols’ name now adorns the CW2 Bryan J. Nichols Army Reserve Center at New Century Air Center.
That’s where, on Sunday, Sept. 7, Bravo Company, 7‑158th General Support Aviation Battalion, will lift off for its “Final Formation Flight” before the unit’s deactivation next year - a farewell to both soldiers and aircraft that have served for decades.
