Career military man praises, encourages today's young troops

Lt. Gen. Devol Brett One could say that Lt. Gen. Devol Brett was born in to a life of military service — literally.

The son of Lt. Gen. George H. Brett, the first chief of the Air Corps, and the grandson of C.A. Devol, an Army major general, the future Lt. Gen. Devol Brett was born at Letterman Military Hospital Presidio of San Francisco in 1922, while his father was on active military duty.

"I never wanted to do anything else with my life. The military is the only career I ever considered," says Brett, a resident of Bentley Village who will turn 86 on Aug. 1.

Brett proudly attends Junior ROTC ceremonies at area high schools, presenting medals and encouraging young people who are considering military careers. He also participated in the recent awards ceremony and banquet honoring outstanding JROTC cadets from eight high schools in Collier County. "They are all truly marvelous young people," he says. "Our country has much to be proud of."

Brett was assigned to the 86th Fighter Wing in Germany shortly after World War II and flew in the early stages of the Berlin Airlift. His next assignment was a tour in Korea, where he logged more than 100 combat missions in a P-51 fighter plane. The lieutenant general flew missions in the 1958 Lebanon crisis, served as vice commander of the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, and flew 100-plus combat missions in Vietnam before his F-4 fighter plane was shot down over North Vietnam.

"Thankfully, I was rescued," he says, adding that his military training is what saved him. "I had no time to be terrified while the plane was going down. I had to remain in control of the plane."

Brett and Capt. Myron Smith, the young radar operator also on board, both ejected over water. Brett was in the water for several hours before a helicopter crew found and rescued him. Sadly, Smith did not survive. "His name is now on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington," says Brett.

The experience had an important impact on him. Following his release from active duty in 1980, after more than 35 years of service, Brett joined the Institute for Defense Analyses to aid the military in developing advanced systems for personnel recovery and combat search and rescue. "Our nation does an exceptional job of locating and recovering missing servicemen and women," he says. "We are far more successful in this regard than any other country in the world."

While a first lieutenant stationed in Austria, he met and married his first wife, Mimi, in 1947. She came back with him to the U.S. and earned her American citizenship. The couple had two children: a son, George Howard, and a daughter, Karla.

Considering the legacy of military service in the Brett family, it's not surpris- ing that George joined the Army right after high school. "George wanted to go into Vietnam, but it was right at the time that I had been shot down, and my wife evoked the Sole Survivors Act (preventing family members from going in to active combat at the same time)," Brett explains. Karla's daughter, Sarah Scott Brett, is a lieutenant in the Air Force and studying to be a doctor at Tulane Medical School.

"The military is a wonderful career with outstanding opportunities for young people who are motivated and self-disciplined," says Brett, who adds that his son received his bachelor's degree from Florida State University, as well as his master's from the University of Georgia, on the GI bill following his military service.

Brett holds a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master's degree from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the USAF Air Tactical School, of Great Britain's Royal Air Force Staff College and of the U.S. National War College.

In addition to flying aircraft for his country, the lieutenant general had a variety of important domestic assignments in the Air Force, including two tours in the Pentagon — one in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the second in the office of the Secretary of Defense.

In 2005, following Mimi's death in 1999, Brett married Lou Longino, an Army brat who was the widow of a longtime friend of Brett's. "Tom (Longino) and I became childhood friends when our fathers were stationed in Panama, and continued our friendship later at West Point," Brett says. Along with his children and grandchildren, he and Lou share the joy of her two grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.

Brett says he is extremely proud of today's servicemen and women in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. "We have to bear in mind that many of them have served repeated tours," he says. "They're doing a wonderful job under extremely difficult circumstances. I believe that our service personnel are among the most diligent and dedicated young people in the country."