Braden Robert Peltier
Specialist, United States Army
April 28, 1999 – March 6, 2023
Age – 23
Rose City, MI
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division,
Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, CO
Died as a result of gunshot wounds in Colorado Springs
which has not been solved and is still under investigation
Braden Peltier was born on April 28, 1999, in Bay City, MI to Jason Peltier and Melissa (Salgat) Samples. He attended T.L. Handy Middle School and Bay City Central High School. The nearly lifelong Michigander enlisted in 2020 and was an active duty artilleryman with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team.
The newly-enlisted Peltier couldn’t wait to don the Army greens. “Every dad’s dream…Amazing young man, good heart,” his dad said. “He was just a good young man…Honorable, respectful.”
Former commander of the team Stephen Capehart said in a statement at the time that Braden’s compassion for his fellow soldiers would be missed.
Braden followed his stepdad, grandfather and great-grandfather and other men in his family into the military. It was work that took him to Poland in 2022 and helped him mature, his father said. “The weight that those young and women carry on their shoulders is incredible.”
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, trail riding, the mountains, and working out. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved spending time outdoors. Long-range shooting was a passion of his.
Army Specialist Exzavor Evans echoed Jay’s sentiments about Braden: “He loved everybody, brightened rooms, touched people’s hearts.”
Sergeant Ashley Smith was with Braden the night he was shot.
“He called me ‘mom’ all the time, you know, I was his mom away from home,” she said.
Sgt. Smith could not say too much because of the ongoing investigation but she did say that she held Braden’s hand during his final moments.
“I tried to do my best, but I just felt, like, helpless in that moment,” she added.
Braden recently made his final trip back home to Michigan with a hero’s salute.
“You will always have my undying love, admiration and respect for the kindness and the honor that you showed my son,” Jay said about those who put together a tribute for Braden’s return.
SPC Peltier was killed on March 26, 2023, at an after-hours nightclub in Colorado Springs as he was protecting someone else during the encounter that also injured one other person. The killer has not been captured.
Meanwhile, police are still looking for the person who killed Braden, and Jay has a message for them: “I forgive you. If I don’t forgive them, I will harbor hatred in my heart for that person and I won’t let them make me the man that I’m not.