• I was born in Winnipeg in 1948 and raised in River Heights. I attended St. Ignatius School and St. Pauls High School.

• I was 18 when I volunteered at Fargo, North Dakota for a three year enlistment in the US Army in October 1966. I took Basic Training with boys from Iowa, Nebraska,South and North Dakota and Minnesota at Ft Bliss near El Paso, New Mexico. In January 1967 I was sent to Ft. Gordon near Augusta, Georgia were I was assigned to the South Eastern Signal School. I trained as an Avionics technician which is the repair and maintenance of flight instruments for helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. In the summer of 1967 I was then assigned to the 1st Armored Division, "Old Ironsides" which was stationed at Ft. Hood near Waco, Texas. In the late fall of 1967 I received my orders for transfer to Vietnam. I was given a short leave and I was then to report to Ft. Lewis in Washington State for shipping out in January / February of 1968. On January 23rd 1968 the North Koreans attacked and seized the United States Navy ship, "Pueblo" killing one American and holding the others captive until the ships crew was repatriated in December of 1968. As luck would have it an increase in troop strength was required on the DMZ in Korea so my orders were changed and I shipped out for Korea were I spent 13 months plus and additional 3 months on a voluntary extension of my overseas tour. I was first assigned to the 2nd Aviation Battalion, 2nd Infantry, Indianhead Division as crew member on the UH-1 Iroquois, more commonly known as the "Huey".

• I was almost immediately re-assigned to a forward support company at Munsan-ni near the Imjin River. The duty was to patrol on foot that portion of the DMZ or Military Demarcation Line and turn back all attempts by the North Koreans to enter South Korea. The North Koreans were aggressive and were striking almost every day and night during the opening months of 1968.

• After 4 1/2 months in the most northern areas, I was sent 15 miles south to Uijonbou which was nothing but mud streets and the obvious left over's from the Korean War in the 1950's. My new duty station in Korea was with the 696th Ordnance HQ Company as a company armouer. I spent most of the last part of my overseas time training some of The Republic of Korea " Tiger Battalion" troops in new small arms operations before their transfer to Vietnam. The M 16 standard infantry rifle and the M 60 machine gun were relatively new at that time to these troops. I was stationed at various camps including Camp Casey and Camp Red Cloud primarily delivering ammunition and grenades to the northern camps and outposts. I had 6 weeks duty as a guard the ASCOM military stockade.

• I was honorably discharged and released from active duty in May of 1969 and I returned home to Winnipeg.

• I am proud of my service in the US Army in particular my beloved Indianhead Division with it's rich history and great fighting spirit. That I was a small part of that history is something I will cherish forever.
  
  
  "God Bless the United States Army"
  
  James A. Brennan E- 4
  US ARMY
  2nd Infantry
  Indianhead Division
  "Second to None "
  1966 -1969
  Canadian Volunteer.
  

 

Military Medals and Badges Awarded To James A. Brennan

US Army Air Crewman Badge

US Army Expert Badge with Rifle, Machine Gun, & Pistol Qualification Bars

HOME NEXT

Next Page Military Photos