GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The body of Staff Sgt. Bryan David Berky, an Ellsworth Air Force Base airman killed in Afghanistan last Saturday, arrived in Florida on Thursday afternoon, greeted by a small group, including his widow.

Berky's body was flown from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware by a charter plane.

Berky, 25, formerly of Melrose, was killed in an ambush by insurgents in Afghanistan on Saturday, Sept. 12. He was an elite bomb detonation specialist who enlisted in the Air Force shortly after graduating from Bradford County High School in 2002.

He was a member of the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron, 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth. He had been in Afghanistan for five months when he was killed in the ambush along with two other Americans and seven Afghans.

At the request of Berky's family, his return on Thursday was marked by a simple ceremony, according to Alachua County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Steve Maynard.

The plane carrying Berky's body touched down on the north side of Gainesville Regional Airport as planned at 1:51 p m. EDT. A U.S. Air Force escort officer was on board who will remain with Berky's body until his burial.

Alongside the tarmac when the plane landed were Berky's widow, Erin Berky, deputies from Alachua and Bradford counties, Gainesville police officers, pilots, employees of the air center, and a handful of other people with ties to the airport such as the firefighters assigned there.

Once the plane had landed, an honor guard of seven airmen from Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., slowly and carefully moved the flag-draped casket into a Forest Meadows hearse.

As the casket was being moved, several people dressed in civilian clothing maintained a hand salute. Alachua County Veterans Service Officer Jim Lynch said the salutes were made possible under a federal law passed a year ago. Previously, only veterans in military uniform or in attire identifying them with a veterans service organization were permitted to make hand salutes, but under the new law, veterans may offer the salute no matter what their attire.

After Erin Berky was comforted by the military escort officer, she rode in a car accompanying the hearse to the Forest Meadows funeral home.

Along the route to the funeral home, the hearse passed by some expressions of sympathy and respect. Several fire trucks from the Alachua County Department of Public Safety were parked near the airport entrance with their lights activated. The firefighters were also expressing their condolences to Berky's mother, Sonya Berky, who is a senior staff assistant for the department.

Berky's mother, widow and other survivors will receive visitors at the Chapel in the Meadows, 4100 N.W. 39th Ave., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT today.

A funeral service with military honors will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the chapel.

Berky's survivors include the high school classmate who became his wife in July 2003, Erin, and the couple's 9-month-old son, Harrison. Survivors also include his brother, Jeremy Berky, and parents, Bill and Sonya Berky, all of Melrose.

Lynch said, although Berky's family requested a much less-obvious return than had been afforded other fallen military service members in recent years, it was just as important.

"This ceremony (at the airport) is the beginning of a journey to make sure his sacrifice is not forgotten," Lynch said. "It is up to us to make sure his memory is kept alive and to honor his sacrifice."

A memorial is also likely to be held at Ellsworth, but no details have been announced.