Edmund “Ted” J. Brennan (6944979) was born on 26 Dec 1919 in Branchdale, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was the third of six children born to his parents William A. Brennan and Mary Ellen Gehres.

Ted spent his youth in Branchdale attending St. Mary Star of the Sea Primary School through 8th Grade and then Reilly Township High School graduating as Salutatorian in 1936.

Ted enlisted in the United States Army on 16 Aug 1938 at Philadelphia, PA, and was assigned to Fort Hoyle MD, then transferring to Boiling Field, Washington D.C. Upon entrance to the Air Corps Training Detachment located at the New England Aircraft School in Boston, MA he trained to become an Airplane Mechanic, graduating in 1940. He completed three (3) years of service and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant from Langley Field, VA on 15 Aug 1941.

On 05 Jan 1942, Ted re-enlisted in the US Army at Philadelphia, PA for a duration of the war plus six (6) months. He was sent as a Pvt. to Olmsted Field, Middletown Air Depot, Middletown, PA. On 01 Feb 1942, as part of the 6th Transport Squadron, A.C. Ted was appointed to the rank of Corporal. He was further advanced to the rank of Sergeant while with the 34th Transport Squadron, A.C. at the Middletown Air Depot.

Between Feb and 15 Sep 1942, Ted was transferred to Bowman Field, Louisville, KY where he advanced to Technical Sgt. with the 41st Troop Carrier Squadron, A.A.F.

Ted qualified for Aviation Cadet Training and was assigned to the 383rd Fighter Squadron, which organized and trained at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy near Tulare, California. Rankin Field was one of the 62 civilian-owned flying schools that contracted with the US Government to teach basic (level 1) pilot training. The cadets at the school received both ground and flight instruction; with a ratio of one instructor to one cadet for the nine-week course. The mission of the school was to train the best pilots possible for the USAAF, and this was done with a highly rigorous and demanding course that many cadets were unable to complete satisfactorily. In June 1943, Ted completed his basic training at Merced Army Flying School in Merced, CA, and the group was assigned to the 364th Fighter Group.

He was then sent to Williams Field, Arizona for his advanced instruction receiving his wings and commission on July 23rd. His aircraft was a P-38 Lightning manufactured by Lockheed.

In February 1944, the group arrived in England and was assigned to VIII Fighter Command at RAF Honington, East Anglia. Initially, they flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany. Primarily operating as an escort for B-17 and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

Ted flew in 12 combat missions with his last being on 12 April 1944. On that day 455 bombers and 766 fighters were dispatched to bomb industrial targets at Schweinfurt, Zwickau, Oscheresleben, Schkeuditz, Halle, and Leipzig but were forced to abandon the mission because of haze and multilayer clouds. From the statement given by Henry B. Sayler, Jr., 1st Lt, Air Corps, 383rd Fighter Squadron. “We left enemy in a shallow high-speed dive south of Frankfurt. The enemy did not seem to follow us down although several of them followed in our direction, 5000 feet above and south of us. My two ships were behind us. I saw his ship, which was undoubtedly Lt Brennan’s, a short distance behind Lt. Wilson, apparently on both engines. Looking back within a minute I could not find him. Right after that, he called back that he was in a cloud which he appeared to be heading for when I previously saw him. His transmission was cut off and I was unable to contact him after several attempts. We ran into heavy flak over Wiesbaden's fight after Lt. Brennan last called. Shortly after passing this town the two of us in my flight made a 180-degree turn but did not see or contact Lt. Brennan. We then returned home.

In a letter sent to Ted’s sister Ursula by Chester A. Barnes from England dated 8 Feb 1945, he recounted that day.

“There were only twelve of us and we were attacked by fifty-plus German fighters. Ted and I were flying together, but in the process of fighting, we were separated. When he didn’t come back we figured he might have been shot down by enemy ground fire. The last contact with him was a broken transmission to the effect that he was in the clouds and in trouble. Nobody could ever raise him again.”

From the burial information received from the enemy, Ted was initially interred at the Civilian Cemetery in Dexheim near Oppenheim, Germany on 14 Apr 1944. On 05 Jul 1945 Ted was interred in the U.S. Military Cemetery St. Avold, plot U, row 30, grave 2949. His family completed a Request for Disposition of Remains and on 18 Sep 1948, a burial mass was held and a final interment was made at St. Mary Star of the Sea Cemetery, Old Llewellyn Rd., Branch Township, Schuylkill, PA.

Edmund was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart award and in Oct 1944 his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Brennan accepted the Air Medal and One Oak Leaf Cluster.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible at any war memorial or cemetery via a smartphone app.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at zimerofsky@yahoo.com.

Sources –

https://middletownpubliclib.org/olmsted-air-force-base/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/pottsville-republican-1944-10-21-medal/110530689/

Barnes, Chester, Letter to Ursula Brennan, 8 Frb 1945

https://www.newspapers.com/article/pottsville-republican-1948-09-17-obitu/48884472/

www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/plaque_cemetery.aspx?HonoreeID=728756

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/383d_Fighter_Squadron

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/383rd-fighter-squadron

https://www.afhra.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/862111/383-fighter-squadron-acc/

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/edmund-j-brennan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Theater_of_Operations,_United_States_Army

https://www.8af.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/333794/eighth-air-force-history/

https://www.tularehistoricalmuseum.org/post/rankin-field

https://aafcollection.info/items/list.php?act=br&ch=location&obj=20

SBTSProject/Pennsylvania/Schuylkill

Edmund Brennan