Posted by xxxxxxx on August 3, 2004:

Chapel services for Colonel John William Brennan (ret.) will be held at Holy Trinity Chapel, West Point, New York on Monday, the 26th of July, 2004 at 10:00 A.M. Col. Brennan?s final resting place will be at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Col. Brennan died early Wednesday morning on July 14th at Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Muskogee Oklahoma. His immediate family of three sons John Jr., Sean and Michael were at his side. Col Brennan was seventy-nine years old and had resided in Muskogee since 1998. Col. Brennan was born to John Francis and Otilla (?Tillie?) Christel Brennan on June 28, 1925. Born and raised in Valders, Wisconsin, he grew to be a community leader and outstanding academic. His early achievements propelled him to attend Notre Dame as a pre-med student, but his true ambitions lay as a career military officer. Col. Brennan enter the United States Military Academy in 1944 where he excelled in sports as the Academy?s first soccer team captain and in the classroom as he graduated in 1948 amongst the top ten percent of his class. Then Second Lieutenant Brennan was commissioned in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and spent his initial tour of duty in Okinawa Japan, eventually leading to combat in the Korean War. His follow on assignments led him to the University of Illinois where he earned his Master of Civil Engineering. In 1952, while serving as an instructor at the Army?s Engineer School in Ft Belvoir Virginia, he met and later married Anna Claire Anthis of Muskogee Oklahoma. Their first two children, sons John Jr. and Robert Sean were born at Ft Belvoir. Son Michael arrived while the family was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany and daughter Elizabeth was born during his tour at Ft. Leavenworth Kansas, where he attended the Army?s Command and General Staff College. He then returned to West Point as an instructor to the Corps of Cadets. The newly promoted Lt. Col. Brennan was again sent to Korea to command an engineer battalion. The ensuing years saw Col Brennan take on critical Army staff and command positions at Yucca Flats Nuclear Testing site in Nevada and the Army War College in Carlisle Pennsylvania. In 1968, Col. Brennan was assigned as regional District Engineer in Vicksburg Mississippi responsible for all water and flood control projects along the Mississippi from Memphis to Natchez. It was in Vicksburg that Col. Brennan was often recognized for his professional leadership and community service. Vicksburg represented a highlight of Col. Brennan?s career, and was a place he grew to love. The Vietnam War brought Col Brennan to Long Bien in 1971 as an Engineer Group Commander of over ten thousand combat engineers. He then finished his military duty as Chief of Operations at the Army Material Command, Alexandria Virginia. The highly decorated Col. Brennan retired from U.S. Army in 1976 having been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the Army?s second highest award) and his second Legion of Merit. His expertise in civil engineering brought him to the construction management firm of Charles. T. Main Professional Engineers in Boston Massachusetts as Vice President of Latin American Business Operations. Col. Brennan spent more than five years as managing engineer for national scale projects in Paraguay and Panama. In 1982, Col. Brennan returned to Mississippi as the Port Director in Greenville. He accomplished much in modernizing and expanding that city?s port commerce. In 1985 Col. Brennan took his second retirement and devoted his time to travel and visits with his children and grandchildren in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Germany. Col Brennan lived in Greenville until 1994, when he moved near his children and grandchildren in Dallas Texas. Col. Brennan arrived in Muskogee in 1998, where he resided at the Broadway Manor Nursing home. At Broadway, his contagious smile and enamoring personality brought him many friends and the love of his support staff. Throughout his life Col. Brennan was a devoted Catholic and he served as a Fourth Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus. His professional awards for civil engineering excellence are numerable . He was a professionally registered engineer in Mississippi and Louisiana. He will be remembered as a man dedicated to the service of his country, his community and his family. Survivors include Anna Claire Anthis Brennan and John W. Brennan, Jr. of Muskogee, Oklahoma, R. Sean Brennan of Houston Texas, Michael F. Brennan, presently serving in Iraq, Elizabeth A. Brennan of Pine Bluff Arkansas, his brother Bill Brennan of Manitowoc Wisconsin and eight grandchildren. Honorary pallbearers are his sons and Dr. Douglas Holt of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Memorials may be made to the Holy Trinity Cadet Catholic Chapel, U.S. Military Academy,West Point. NY 10996

admin