LANGDON, N.D. — A fundraiser set up to support a seriously wounded U.S. Army pilot from North Dakota is already halfway to its goal in just the three days it’s been active.
The pilot, Garrett Illerbrunn, was one of three service members wounded in a drone attack on Christmas Day in the Middle East. Illerbrunn is a native of Langdon, a northeast North Dakota community with a population of approximately 1,900.
“His wife and son, Lorna and Tucker, were visiting family for the holidays when they received the news,” the GoFundMe fundraiser description said. “While his prognosis is unknown and ever-changing, we as the organizers want to be able to prepare for the Illerbrunns as much as possible in their difficult time.”
A post by Gov. Doug Burgum on X, formerly known as Twitter, called for prayers for Illerbrunn.
“Please join us in praying for a full recovery for U.S. Army pilot and Langdon, ND, native Garrett Illerbrunn, who was seriously injured in a drone attack (Dec. 25) in Iraq,” Burgum said
. “Today we shared gratitude with his father, Brad, for his son’s courageous service.”
Burgum attached an
in the post, which explains more about the attack and the retaliation strike ordered by President Joe Biden. According to the article, the initial attack was carried out by Kataib Hezbollah militants on the Erbil Air Base the morning of Dec. 25. Two other service members were wounded alongside Illerbrunn.
North Dakota Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven also voiced their support for Illerbrunn in their own social media posts.
“Kris and I pray for a quick and full recovery for US Army pilot and ND native Garrett Illerbrunn, who was one of the three service members injured by a drone attack on the Erbil Air Base in Iraq. His valor and service to our country does not go unnoticed,” Cramer wrote on X.
And Hoeven wrote that he and his wife, Mikey, are praying for Illerbrunn, “who was injured in the recent drone strike on U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militants in Iraq. We deeply appreciate his service and have been in touch with his family to wish him a speedy and full recovery.”
The
for Illerbrunn and his family, organized by Melissa Young, Dustin Thomerson and Ray and Amy Helvig, has a goal of $75,000. As of 9:15 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 2, nearly $49,000 had been raised.
The organizers of the fundraiser, according to its description, are raising the money to help fit Illerbrunn and his family’s home with proper aids to help with his recovery. Some of the money will also go to a treehouse, which Illerbrunn’s wife, Lorna, had previously contracted out as a Christmas present for the couple’s son, Tucker.
“As we’re unsure of the prognosis, we do foresee things like ramps, rails, and physical therapy needs throughout the home,” the fundraiser description said. “With your donations we can not only be ready for his home arrival, but we can give Tucker his treehouse and leave Lorna without any worry and one last thing for her to deal with. All proceeds will go to the treehouse, home needs or straight to Lorna – any extra will go to travel, home, bills, Garrett’s recovery and anything the family needs in the time to redirect their daily needs to their new, adapting life.”
After the attack on U.S. personnel, the U.S. responded with strikes on three installations in Iraq targeting what it said is a terrorist group backed by Iran, according to the news agency Bloomberg. Bloomberg reported that President Joe Biden was briefed on the attack on U.S. personnel and later in the day ordered the retaliatory response.
On Dec. 27, Biden told members of Congress that the U.S. response was “intended to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners.”
Otto is a recent University of North Dakota graduate and reporter at the Herald.
