William Neale Bringham - Online Memorial Website

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William Bringham
Born in Virginia
82 years
268552
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Carol L. Bringham

From Carol, wife of 55 years

 

Bill and I met and married in Tokyo, Japan in 1951.  Bill had been wounded in Korea and was evacuated to Tokyo.  After recovery from his injury, he joined General MacArthur’s Honor Company.  We stayed in Tokyo and then moved to the southern island of Kyushu where our first son, Bill Jr., was born.

 

We returned to the states and after a couple trips cross country, ended up at Fort Lewis, Washington where Rick was born.  After 2 years, we went to Fairbanks, Alaska for a 3 year tour.  This is where Bill had to cross country ski with a 50 lb. pack on his back for the army.  And his children wondered why he never wanted to ski after that.  Peggy was born in Alaska (December, of course).

 

As you may gather, planes, trains and automobiles (even a ship) played a large part in our lives.  We traveled east to west and west to east across the states often enough to learn every landmark on the way.  I guess a California native and a Virginia resident could only have met in neutral ground like Japan.

 

And last, but certainly not least, our last child Jim was born while in Alexandria, VA while Bill was in Vietnam.  We made that long trip again to Fort Ord, CA and then completed Bill’s army career in Nelligan, Germany and SHAPE, Belgium.  On our return to California, we moved again several times (old habits are hard to break) and then moved to Mission Viejo where we have lived for more than 20 years.

 

Along the way, we added two daughter-in-laws, Erin and Elizabeth and a son-in-law, Dale Henson. We have five grandchildren, Nicole, Danielle, Grace and Gianna Bringham, and Christopher Henson.

 

Bill had a long and full life and we all have good memories to hold on to.  Now he has taken his final journey and is in his eternal resting place, standing tall and watching over all of us.  We will miss him.

Bill Bringham Jr.

 

                                                                DAD-A SURVIVOR

                                                               

                                                     <Dad died October 21st, 2006>

 

 

This is a celebration.

 

The celebration of the life of a great man-WILLIAM NEALE BRINGHAM, SR.

 

I read a poem he wrote out from one he had seen and the point of it was that death was the achievement of his ultimate goal when it happened.  He would regret leaving us and the earthly life he enjoyed tremendously but it gave him the opportunity finally to be with the Lord, his God.  In essence, paraphrasing, it said “Behold, I am finally here in your presence and for this I am immensely grateful”.

 

My Father is a SURVIVOR.

 

As a young pre-teen boy he was an extremely skinny, sickly kid for a period of time, so ill that he missed much school in that period.

 

He survived that period and was always enamored with being in the military, much probably attributable to the service of his father wounded in World War I as a captain and West Point graduate as well as being a very accomplished athlete at the point at the University of Nevada in track, baseball and boxing.

 

Dad did not inherit his Dad’s love for and prowess in sports but did his love of the military life.  He was in ROTC in high school and was a Colonel at that time.  He wanted to go to West Point but did not get appointed.  One needed to be appointed by a congressman and only two from each state were eligible.  He lost out, as he grew up in West Los Angeles to a movie producer’s son who’s father probably had more influence.

 

Instead he was drafted for WWII, went through training and was deployed to the Philippines awaiting to be sent into combat in the war of the Pacific.

 

WWII ended before Dad saw combat and he later re-enlisted, went to Officers Training School and became a Lieutenant in the Army.

 

That skinny kid eventually became a 6’2”, 200 lb commander on the cold frontier of Alaska as a Captain.

  

He was not an avid athlete as his father, but enjoyed tennis, horseback riding and golf.  In Alaska he completed the required 100 mile cross country ski course and was awarded a large blue and white patch which I can still picture and will never forget.

 

So; he survived WWII.

 

He survived the Korean War.  As a Lieutenant and platoon leader he was wounded by gunshot from a sniper while on a hill leading his platoon.  Fortunately it was a flesh wound in his upper leg.  I remember seeing the scar although it was confusing because he also had a unique birth mark in the same area.

 

He told me it was a “million dollar wound” because it gave him the opportunity to get out of combat in Korea with his life.

 

He was mashed (flown) out of Korea to Japan to a hospital there and was later chosen to be a member of General Douglas MacArthur’s honor guard of which there were only a chosen few who were required to have an excellent military record, be in excellent physical shape and be of a certain minimum height.

 

When in Japan he met my Mom and I was born.

 

He survived the Viet-Nam war while serving as one of the first U.S. military advisors sent there in 1964.

 

He survived Viet-Nam again in 1971 by retiring and not being sent there again as he was ordered to do.  He retired for two reasons:  The Army wanted to send him back without promoting him for his long, excellent service; and he did not want to spend another entire year without his family.

 

Actually, I was drafted into the Army in 1972 and had actually completed induction procedures.  I was against the war at that point and my Father as big a man he was, a career military officer went with me to file as a conscienscious objector.  The war ended and so did the draft so I was spared.

 

He survived being a veteran after the Viet-Nam war when the civilian community did not respect their service let alone welcome them and made it difficult for them to find employment in the civilian economy.

 

Dad worked for a lot of companies to support his family but transition was difficult from military life to civilian life after twenty-six years in the military.

 

He worked for the Employment Development Department, Federal Express, Motel 6, GNC Health Foods, managed a condominium complex and worked for his friend Jim Williams at his high end women’s clothing store in Pasadena before finally retiring entirely.

 

Finally, he survived the deterioration of his body to the very end.  After falling and breaking his leg he did not walk much again and needed the use of a wheel chair.

 

He continued to fight increasing ailments but still continued to support his family and make new friends.  He loved going to lunch with them; always had an appetite although I believe he enjoyed the social aspect as much as the food.  He would even make friends with the young waiters and waitresses most of whom were going to college in addition to working at the restaurants.

 

After all, he was an infantry soldier for twenty-six years!  He was not in excellent shape for sport but for his country.

 

How strong would your legs be or what shape would you be in if you had marched and led soldiers marching in formation that long?

 

I will tell you.  His father did it.  He did it.  And at the end of their lives they are in a wheel chair.  This not to denigrate from them or you but a symbol of how much they gave.

 

I would not trade the life he provided for any other.  I got to live in eight states in America and in Europe.  I was able to see every state in our country save Hawaii, Florida and Maine which co-incidentally are three of the most far reaching in our country.

 

I was enabled to experience the Grand Canyon, the Mojave Desert, the Mid-West, the Alaskan wilderness, Berlin, Brussels and Stuttgart.

 

I experienced Hannibal, Missouri; home of Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer, Kansas, where Jesse James robbed his first train; I imagined the spot when I was there and used to pretend with my friends that we were them.  We camped at Lake of the Ozarks in Minnesota.  We drove back and forth across America, sometimes north through Canada, sometimes through the southwest including Arizona and New Mexico. 

 

For all these experiences and him and my Mom and family I am grateful and celebrate his life and death.

Rick Bringham

Eulogy - William N. Bringham's Memorial Service

October 28, 2006

Rick Bringham-Son

 

Thank you for everyone's attendance, family and friends.  I like to acknowledge my Mom's four brothers and sisters, my cousin Mac, and old friends Jim Williams and Bill Bernie many of who made it over great distances and with some difficulty.  Others like my Uncle John, Dad's brother, could not travel and be here but send their condolences and regrets.  Some old friends, like Dan Andes and Bill Steele, have recently pre-deceased Dad.

 

Dad was one of four brothers, Bob, Bill, John and Pete.  Granddad Bringham was from Nevada, was a graduate of West Point and was a veteran of WWI were he had his hand shot off.  He met and married Margaret Balcom from Bath, NY.  While working at the Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, VA Dad was born.  They moved to Bath, NY, Grandma's hometown, where Granddad ran the Soldier's Home (one of the smallest VA hospitals in the country).  After being offered the chance to run the largest VA Hospital in the country Dad's parents moved to West Los Angeles in California.  Dad grew up there in the spacious home near the VA Hospital used by the head of the VA Hospital.  It was set on many acres right next to Wilshire Boulevard and Westwood.  It had lots of Palm trees and a horse stable and was a wonderful place to grow up.

 

Dad wanted to go to West Point.  You had to be one of the top two recommended by your state congressman and he was #3, the first alternate.  His father and his three brothers, Bob, John and Pete all went to West Point.  Dad didn't get to go to West Point, which was a disappointment.  Instead he was called up to serve in WWII.  After the war, Dad went to the University of Southern California (USC) where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and where he met many of his lifelong friends.

 

He joined the U.S. Army where he served for over 25 years.  He reached the rank of Lt. Col. Becoming Col. Bringham and joining his father, his brother Bob and his brother John who were all Col. Bringham.

 

He was a veteran of three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam receiving a Purple Heart for being shot in the leg in Korea and the Bronze Star for exemplary performance in Vietnam.

 

He met and married my Mom while serving in the Army in Japan

 

Dad was a family man with four children, Bill, Rick, Peggy and Jim and he was married for 55 years to my mother Carol.  He was a great example to me of the importance of the marriage covenant, enjoying the good times and weathering the storms but staying the course.

 

He always provided us a good home and everything that we needed growing up.  I know we weren't rich but I felt rich growing up because I had everything a boy could want.

 

We had a wonderful life as Army brats, living around the United States and Europe.  Every place was a great adventure; Tacoma, Washington, Fairbanks, Alaska, Baltimore, Maryland, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Omaha, Nebraska, Alexandria, Virginia, Monterey, CA, Stuttgart, Germany, Mons, Belgium, and Southern California.

 

My brothers and I loved to play sports, baseball, football, basketball and any other kind of ball.  Dad supported us in our multitudes of games through the years.  But Dad didn't much personally care for sports except for two things; playing golf and watching USC football.

 

One of my fondest memories was of Dad, brother Bill, brother Jim, brother-in-law Dale and I playing golf together at El Toro Marine Base golf course.  None of us was very good, but we were competitive and it was a great was to spend a day together.

 

And then there was USC football.  Dad went to USC and I went to USC following in his footsteps.   We went to many games at the LA Coliseum (and once the Rose Bowl) together (in his more mobile days) and later watched the games together or rejoiced or commiserated on the outcome over the phone.  In the last few years while I was on the East Coast he would tape and send the games to me.  One of the last things I remember doing with him was watching a game together.

 

Dad was orderly, always scheduling things.  He loved his family and was infamous for wanting to know precise details of where we were going and when, even after we were grown and perhaps living thousands of miles away.  What flight number? What is the name of the hotel? What is the phone number?

 

I remember Dad always telling me how proud he was of my accomplishments and of my family.

 

Dad loved politics and world new.  He would watch all the newscasts at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, etc. before the days of 24 hours news channels.  I think CNN must have been invented just for him.

 

Religion was always important to him as he attended the Episcopal Church most of his life.  But he valued the pageantry more than the purpose; the pipe organs, the choir, the robes and the candles. But we know through recent conversations he had with Pastor Rich Anderson and others that he knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and that because of that he knew he would be in heaven hen he died.  And for that we rejoice!

 

Dad had a debilitating muscle disease but he was a fighter.  It weakened his arms and his legs, it put him in a wheel chair and it caused him great difficulty in swallowing.  But he kept on fighting.  He fell and broke a leg, he fell and broke his neck, he fell and broke both legs, and he had a pulmonary embolism.  But each time he came back fighting.  He fought his last fight with "Amazing Grace" being sung to him as he slipped away for the last time.  But we are thankful that he now has a new body, unbroken, without pain, in heaven.

 

For my Dad I'd like to read the following scripture verses:

 

Psalm 103:13-19

As a father has compassion on his children,

So the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

For he knows how we are formed.

He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass,

He flourishes like a flower of the field;

The wind blows over it and it is gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting

The LORD's love is with those who fear him,

And his righteousness with their children's children-

With those who keep his covenant

And remember to obey his precepts,

The LORD has established his throne in heaven,

And his kingdom rules over all.

 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

2 Corinthians 5:1

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,

We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven,

Not built by human hands.

 

Peggy Henson

MEMORIES OF DAD from Peggy:

I remember: 

  • Traveling across the US, coast to coast with Dad always driving, my mom navigating and my brothers driving me crazy
  • Traveling in Europe when Dad was stationed in Germany and Belgium, we would go to a new place every break we had and see everything on a whirlwind tour of the country
  • Moving every 2 years and being close with family because of this
  • Dad coming home in uniform and quieting the “troops” at home
  • Never really knowing why we were called “army brats”, but we lived up to that role quite well
  • I felt proud that my Dad served in the Army and he was a proud veteran to the end
  • My dad telling us at the dinner table to mind our manners because “What if you get invited to the White House for dinner?” We’re still waiting for our invitation
  • My dad always made a point of remembering people’s birthdays and anniversaries.  He was a planner and always made gathering for family events an important part of our family.  He was so organized that he planned much of this service by writing notes and guiding us even though he was gone.
  • On an aside to the above, Dad always kept a calendar close at hand, and we laughed (to ourselves of course) that if it got on Dad’s calendar, it was almost set in stone
  • My dad always made a point of getting to know people around him, doctors, waiters, caregivers and the list goes on.  He touched a lot of lives.  Even one of the doctors at the hospital who had known him for years referred to him as “colonel”
  • Dad was a fighter to the end.  He endured when we thought he wouldn’t.  He fought in 3 wars as an army soldier, but his hardest battle was the myositis and heart failure that took his strength and weakened his body.
  • My dad had a strong spirit and love for family and friends and this will live on in all of us.
  • I picture him dancing in heaven with all his physical strength back and no wheelchair.  I hope he’s not trying to be in charge of the troops in heaven and will leave that to God
  • Thanks for all our special memories to hold on to.
  • I know you’re at peace now, Dad and I’ll miss you.

I was talking to my son, Christopher about his grandpa and how he had served in the army and even got a “purple heart”.  He got a very perplexed look on his face until I showed him the medal and explained the significance.  He thought I meant his real heart was purple.  Chris knew his Grandpa well and enjoyed some ice cream with him the last time he visited him.  He will miss him a lot.

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