Colonel Eugene R. Brady, USMC
June 1946-September 1980
Colonel Eugene R. Brady was born in York, Pennsylvania, on 27 March 1928, and entered the United States Marine Corps in June, 1946 two days after high school graduation. He attained the rank of Buck Sergeant before being selected Naval Flight Training in 1949. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in December 1950 and was assigned as a pilot to VMF-122 at Cherry Point, North Carolina, and subsequently reassigned during May 1951 to VMF 223. He saw duty in Korea as a pilot with VMF 311.
From September 1952 through July 1954 Colonel Brady was assigned as a pilot with VMR-252 at Cherry Point, North Carolina. He then served as Assistant Group Operations Officer and Assistant Wing Operations Officer until his transfer in November 1955 to FMFlant, Norfolk Virginia, where he served in the G-3 of Air Wing FMFlant and as Commanding Officer of H&S Squadron. A tour as Flight Instructor followed at Corpus Christi, Texas for eighteen months.
From March of 1959 he served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General 1st MAW and then in the same capacity to the Commanding General 3rd MAW at El Toro. During December 1960, he joined VMF(AW)-542. He was assigned as Executive Officer of the squadron until December 1963 when the squadron returned to El Toro from Atsugi, Japan.
Assigned to MCAS Quantico in November 1963, he served as assistant S-3of the station, Commanding Officer H&HS, Executive Officer of SOES and Commanding Officer of that squadron from January 1966 until September 1966, when he attended George Washington University until his graduation in May 1967.
Following jet refresher training at El Toro, he was assigned ultimately as Commanding Officer of MABS-33. He was assigned to Helicopter Transition Training in June 1968. His subsequent tour in Vietnam was spent with MAG-16as S-3 and as Commanding Officer of HMM-364, the Purple Foxes.
During the period of October 1969 through 1971, he was assigned to DC/S (Air) at Headquarters Marine Corps. In July of 1971, he was assigned to the United States Army War College, earning a Master of Science Degree from Shippensberg State College in conjunction with is academic pursuit at the USAWC.
Colonel Brady Served as Commanding Officer of MCAS(H) Tustin from August 1972 through July 1974. He then became Commanding Officer of MAG-16 from August 1974 until July 1975.
From July 1975 through November 1977 he served as Chief of Staff, MCB Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan. In December 1977, Colonel Brady became Special Assistant to the Commandant on the Naval Forces Staff, Seoul Korea. After returning from Korea in 1979, he served as Inspector COMCABWEST.
Colonel Brady’s decorations include the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, the Legion of Merit, 48 Air Medals, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Good Conduct Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Combat Action Ribbon.