Patrick Brady was born in Philip, South Dakota, to Michael and LaVona Brady. The family moved to Washington State, where he graduated from O'Dea High School. At Seattle University, he disliked the mandatory ROTC curriculum but figured he would be drafted if he did not complete his degree. He received a bachelor’s degree and, having completed ROTC, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps, part of the Army Reserve, in 1959. Six months later, he was transferred to active duty, serving in Berlin, Germany, from 1959 to 1963.

He returned to the U.S., and then-1LT Brady trained at the Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He received his helicopter wings and became what ground-pounders called a “Dustoff” crew pilot — an air ambulance pilot, which inevitably meant he would be deep in harm’s way. These legendary pilots risked all, flying into and landing in active combat zones to evacuate the wounded.

In Vietnam, Patrick would serve two tours, the first with the 57th Medical Detachment, where his skills and courage would be tested repeatedly. He assumed command of the 57th’s Detachment A at Soc Trang Airfield after his commanding officer, famed pilot Major Charles Kelly, was killed. Kelly’s last words were, “When I have your wounded…” words of defiance over the radio when ordered to leave a hot landing zone in the midst of an intense firefight. Those words became the motto of the Dustoff crews.

The day after Major Kelly’s death, Patrick’s commanding officer entered his office and tossed the bullet that killed Kelly onto his desk. He asked if this was sufficient to convince Patrick that his unit must stop flying into hot zones so aggressively. Patrick picked up the bullet and responded, “We are going to keep flying exactly the way Kelly taught us to fly, without hesitation, anytime, anywhere.”

Completing his first tour in Vietnam, then-CPT Brady returned stateside to Ft. Benning, where he would remain until 1967. In July of that year, he was promoted to Major and reassigned to the 54th Medical Detachment, 67th Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade, and deployed to Chu Lai, Vietnam, for his second tour.

It was on an evac mission near Chu Lai on 6 January 1968, just another day at the office, when Patrick Brady would earn his Medal of Honor.

In a summation of his Medal of Honor citation, the Medal of Honor Society notes:

Brady shooed away warnings that nasty weather, jungles latticed with mines and the constant crawl of enemy troops made his planned rescue flight a suicide mission.

He steered his UH-1H Bell Iroquios ambulance helicopter into a cloud-swaddled valley, tilting his “Huey” gingerly to blow backwash along a twisted trail, herding the dense fog back into the trees. Braving enemy small arms fire, he landed the chopper in a tight site and lifted off with two badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers. His Huey then skipped across the fog to find American casualties, in a spot only 50 meters from the enemy.

Two helicopters were crumpled nearby, grisly evidence of vain attempts by other American rescuers to reach the wounded. Brady would make four trips into the landing zone, saving all the casualties, even after his helicopter controls had been shot away and his Huey peppered with holes.

He then borrowed another helicopter and sped to a minefield, where an American platoon was trapped. A detonation near his chopper wounded two crew members, but Brady flew six patients to the aid station.

By the end of that bloody day, he’d used three helicopters to save 51 wounded men.

In his two Vietnam deployments, Patrick flew more than 2,000 combat missions and daringly rescued an estimated 5,000 wounded Americans and friendlies.

All told, he served in the Army for 34 years, rising to the rank of Major General. Over the course of his service, in addition to the Medal of Honor, he was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Distinguished Service Medals, and a Distinguished Service Cross, among other medals and awards, making him one of our nation’s most highly decorated soldiers.

Patrick retired in 1993 and lives in Sumner, Washington, with his wife — his high school sweetheart, Nancy. They have six children, two of whom are graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point. His daughter, Meghan, was also an ROTC graduate from Seattle University and served as an officer in both Kosovo and Iraq with the Medical Service Corps.

He has always been a man of devotion to God and our country, and lived to tell his story.

He is dedicated to the Medal of Honor Society educational initiatives, promoting the core values common to recipients. He works with kids across the country: “I define America’s nobility, what is a real hero, the key to success in life, the key to happiness in life, and the key to the future of America.”

He adds: “Valor and acts of courage are interesting, but they’re not useful unless they’re inspirational. If we pin these kids down and get them to thinking, and they look at examples of Medal of Honor Recipients and what they’ve done, it can be inspirational. … We’re using the intrinsic values of the Medal — courage, sacrifice, and patriotism — to teach them the key to success in life. It’s just a joy to see them, to listen to what’s on their mind, and to try and inspire them.”

Summing up his perspective: “Mediocrity and failure result from choice, not chance. Success is born of courage alone, and God has made this marvelous gift infinitely available to all who ask for it.”

In 2001, Patrick was inducted into the Dustoff Association Hall of Fame, and in 2013, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Notably, in October 2024, he joined other Medal of Honor recipients with a rare public presidential endorsement — for Donald Trump.

MG Patrick Henry Brady: Your example of valor — a humble American Patriot defending Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty and in disregard for the peril to your own life — is eternal.

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Live your life worthy of his sacrifice.

(Read more Profiles of Valor here.)

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Follow Mark Alexander on X/Twitter.

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