It’s been less than two weeks since the horrible news arrived.
Brandon Hobbs, 51, a 1992 Iola High School graduate, was killed in a plane crash Feb. 6 while aboard an aircraft flying over the Philippines.
Hobbs, whose military career alone is a story unto itself, was on a mission as a private Department of Defense contractor.
He was one of four killed, along with two other contractors and a U.S. Marine, when their Air King 350 crash landed in a rice field in the southern Philippines on Feb. 6.
While the news left a devastated family back home, the avalanche of calls and letters they’ve received since then has been nothing short of remarkable, Brandon’s twin sister, Brandee Bratton told the Register.
Bratton and Brandon’s father, Rex Hobbs Jr., spoke at length about Brandon’s eventful life, his desire to enlist in the Air Force Reserves at age 37, and the countless stories and anecdotes they’ve heard from family and friends around the globe.
BRANDON and Brandee — she describes him as her Wonder Twin — were born Sept. 16, 1973, to Rex Jr. and Debbie Hobbs in Iola.
“They had a special connection,” Rex said. “Their bond was strong.”
Rex and Debbie married young. Perhaps too young, Rex admitted, and their marriage ended when the twins were 4.
Their parents shared custody of Brandon and Brandee as Rex moved, first to Tulsa, then to the Florida coast, where he ran a marina and worked as a watercraft mechanic.
By then, Brandon and Brandee had moved full time with their father, where life was as fun as one could imagine. Weekends would be spent boating to the Bahamas, landing fish as tall as they were.
By the time he was in high school, Brandon had returned to Iola, living with his mother and grandmother, Billie Thompson, where he excelled in athletics.
Even though IHS didn’t have a baseball program, Brandon’s skills were evident enough, first through the local youth leagues, and then as part of Iola’s storied American Legion squad, to the point he was tapped to throw the first pitch at a Kansas City Royals baseball game.
He also caught the eyes of college baseball scouts, and signed to play collegiately first at Pratt Community College, then Arkansas Tech.
From there, Brandon signed to play minor league ball for the Tupelo Tornadoes in Mississippi, before a family life beckoned.
