Major General Tom Harvey Brain

Maj. Gen. Brain passed away peacefully at home at Brightview Woodmont, Bethesda, Maryland on January 17, 2024. He was 93 years old, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Tom and Emily Trevail Brain on October 23, 1930.

During his high school years he was active in church affairs, wrestling, track, and became Editor of his high school yearbook. After graduation he studied chemical engineering at Wilkes University and served in the Pennsylvania National Guard for one year, then received an appointment to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1953.

During his years at West Point, he was active in social studies, math and languages, and was especially proud of being involved in the first USMA Student Conference on US Affairs. He married Ruth Ann Pierce on Graduation Day in the Cadet Chapel.

After Field Artillery training at Ft. Sill he was sent to the 41st Field Artillery Battalion, Ft. Benning, GA. He was reassigned to Korea in September, 1954. After Korea he was assigned again to Ft. Benning to the same battalion. He attended the Parachutist Course at Benning before transferring to the Ordnance Corps in 1957.

He was sent to Purdue University for a Masters Degree in Engineering Science which was awarded in 1959. He joined the Department of Ordnance Engineering at West Point, teaching metallurgy, automotive engineering, ballistics, and was associate professor of systems engineering in the last of four years at USMA. He was awarded a Doctorate of Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University from Columbia University and earned a Professional Engineer’s License as a Mechanical Engineer in New York State in 1963.

He attended the Ordnance Officer Career Course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. He then went to Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division as the Materiel Officer with the 703rd Maintenance Battalion. After a tour with the US Army Research and Development Group in Frankfurt, he was chosen to attend the Command and General Staff Course at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, where he also earned a second Masters Degree.

After graduating in 1967 he was promoted to Lt. Col. and assumed command of the 198th Maintenance Battalion at Ft. Meade, MD and later the 47th Direct Support Group with responsibility for over 2,200 personnel. A major task was training and deploying three battalions to Vietnam in 1968. In October, 1968, he arrived in Vietnam and assumed command of the 801st Maintenance Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division. During his tour he became commander of the 101st Division Support Command and also became the Division G-4, or senior logistician.

After returning to the US he became Project Manager of the Army program to develop a weapon system for armored vehicles at the Army Weapons Command, Rock Island Arsenal, IL. That weapons system later was deployed in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle worldwide.

In 1970 he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, ICAF, at Ft. McNair, DC. After graduation he was assigned as a Division Chief of the DOD Special Projects Group. In 1972, after promotion to Colonel, he was ordered to Ft. Campbell, KY to assume command of the Division Support Command of the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile).

After four years of troop command, he became Deputy Director of Procurement, DCSLOG, DA at the Pentagon. In 1975 he was promoted to Brigadier General and reassigned within the Army staff as the Director of International Logistics.

In 1976 he assumed command of the US Army Security Assistance Command at the Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA. He retired as a Major General in 1979.

His military awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Bronze Star, two Air Medals, three awards of the Army Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and V device, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Parachutists badge.

After retirement he worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as General Manager of two major engineering support programs. He was the regional Vice President of the Frank E. Basil Company, Washington, DC in Riyadh with responsibility for operations and marketing of the firm’s engineering service.

He returned from the Middle East in 1984 and opened a consulting firm in Washington to provide engineering, marketing and support services. The firm prospered both in the US and internationally. In 1995 he retired, and he and Ruth moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. In 2019 he and Ruth moved to the Brightview Woodmont in Bethesda, MD, where they were very active in the community and as decades-long members of the National Presbyterian Church.

Gen. Brain was predeceased by his loving wife of 69 years, Ruth, as well as his parents Tom and Emily Brain and his brother Charles S. Brain. He is survived by his daughter, Sally Brain Gentille, and her husband John R. Gentille of Blowing Rock, North Carolina; a grandson John D. Gentille of Fort Mill, South Carolina and four great-grandchildren, Isabella, Tristan, Savannah, and Noah Gentille; John’s partner Kari Mitchell and two step-great-grandchildren Beckham and Cruz Mitchell; sister-in-law Mary Lou Pierce McLain, niece Loren Pierce Alexis and nephews William R. and Richard J. Pierce and their families.

A funeral will be held on July 10, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel followed by burial with Full Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery.