Brett Family

On April 24, Father Frank Brett, Ph.D., a retired U.S. Army chaplain, was laid to rest on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery. He was buried in the same grave as his brother, U.S. Navy Chaplain Father Bob Brett, who died a hero in the Vietnam War when a 122-millimeter rocket struck his trench moments after he passed up what would turn out to be his last chance to evacuate the battlefield--he gave his seat on a departing helicopter to a fellow serviceman. As the chopper rose and banked away from the trench, those on board heard the fatal blast. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, two nephews and a niece of the late brother priests sit down at a family gathering in Old Town Alexandria, VA, after the interment service, to talk about their uncles' incredible story. Lt. Col. Edward Rouse, USMC (Ret.), Ms. Debbie Brett Cherin, and Mr. Chris Lawlor tell how Father Frank Brett, who died in December of 2017 at the age of 86, came to be buried with his brother, who was 32 years old when killed in 1968. They explain that the remains of Father Bob Brett, originally buried in Pennsylvania, were removed to Arlington in 1998. When Father Frank died nearly 20 years later of soft-tissue sarcoma, a condition reportedly linked to herbicides used in Vietnam, he was cremated and the family kept his ashes in an urn pending approval of the burial at Arlington.