By Tania Meireles, WTC Stratcom
![1LT Brian Brennan accepts The New Jersey Hall of Fame’s Unsung Hero award from GEN David H. Petraeus on May 3, 2009 (Photo courtesy of Gary Gellman/NJ Hall of Fame).](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130227193454im_/http://aw2.armylive.dodlive.mil/files/2009/12/brian-and-petraue_nj-hall_low-res-300x201.jpg)
1LT Brian Brennan accepts The New Jersey Hall of Fame’s Unsung Hero award from GEN David H. Petraeus on May 3, 2009 (Photo courtesy of Gary Gellman/NJ Hall of Fame).
The following has been republished from AW2′s fall issue of The Journey, which is available for download in PDF format.
1LT Brian Brennan, a 101st Airborne Ranger, was severely injured while leading a patrol in Afghanistan on May 7, 2008. The improvised explosive device caused the death of three Soldiers, with Brennan and one other Soldier barely able to hang on to their lives. Brennan sustained an acute brain injury, burns, a collapsed lung, internal bleeding, a ruptured spleen, and compound fractures to his left arm. He also suffered the loss of both of his legs.
He was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, DC, but remained in a coma. Doctors told his Family that there was little chance that he would wake up. As chance would have it, GEN David H. Petraeus, Commander, U.S. Central Command, visited Brennan in May of 2008 and spoke to him. Not until the General spoke Brennan’s battalion motto, the Band of Brothers Battalion, did Brennan show any signs of movement. The motto, “currahee,” is a Cherokee word meaning “stand alone.” The General shouted “currahee” a second time and Brennan began forcefully moving in his bed. To the elation of his Family, he came out of his coma.
Brennan received care at both WRAMC and the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital in Tampa, FL. With the support of his Family and the Army and through his hard work and determination, he was fitted with prosthetics and learned to walk again.
“The Army was there for me and my Family,” said Brennan. “My AW2 Advocate was like a buddy I could really talk to about what I needed and what I was going through. He even helped with paperwork.”
Brennan’s story caught the attention of his community and home state as well. His community banded together to specially adapt his parents’ home in New Jersey for his homecoming. Brennan and his Family also started a foundation to help other wounded warriors called the 1LT Brian Brennan Stands Alone Foundation.
“The community really stuck by me — it was awesome,” he said. “Now we can give back to other wounded warriors.”
The state of New Jersey chose him as the recipient of their first Unsung Hero award. The New Jersey Hall of Fame Web site states that he “is a profile in courage and a role model for all of us in overcoming unthinkable personal challenges.” After nearly a year of surgeries and therapy, Brennan walked on stage to be inducted into The New Jersey Hall of Fame by a surprise guest, GEN Petraeus.
“Like all servicemembers, I didn’t feel like I deserved the award for doing my job,” said Brennan. “So I accepted the award on behalf of all servicemembers from all branches and public servants as well – who don’t get recognized as often as they should.”
Brennan is currently working on his future career endeavors within the Army. He recently started a position at MacDill Air Force Base in the Special Operations Command in Tampa, FL. He plans to attend the Captain’s Career Course in Fort Benning, GA, and then return to his alma mater, The Citadel, to be a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) instructor.
When asked what advice he would like to give other wounded warriors, he said, “Drive on. Don’t stop working at it. You’ll get back to the way you were before.”