'He shaped us into the men we are:' Fayetteville family's military service spans decades
For Fayetteville’s Brunson family, military service spans generations and adds up to more than 100 years of service combined.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Albert Brunson, 80, joined the Army in the 1960s, and his oldest son, Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, followed in his footsteps by commissioning into the Army as an infantry officer after graduating from Hampton University in 1990.
Then there are Albert Brunson's twin sons, LaHavie “Havi” and Tavi Brunson, who joined the Army after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Brunson was born in South Carolina and moved to Pennsylvania before he was drafted into the Army in 1965.
Once completing advanced individual training and jump school, Brunson arrived at then-Fort Bragg to start his military career with the 82nd Airborne Division.
“I had an uncle who served during the Berlin Airlift, and he said something before I was drafted about being in Germany and that the airborne guys were the sharpest guys ever with the shiniest boots and didn’t take any grief from anybody — tough guys,” Brunson said.
While going through advanced individual training, a recruiter for airborne school asked for volunteers, and Burnson reflected on what his uncle told him, before raising his hand to volunteer.
“The other guy was a huge guy who looked like a linebacker, and I was 5’5” and probably 120 pounds soaking wet, and the other guys asked, ‘Brunson, what the hell are you doing?’ But I went off the airborne school, and the rest is history.”
During his first jump, Brunson said, the aircraft used was a C-124 Globemaster that had an upper and lower level.
The soldiers had an airline cable that they were supposed to attach to the static line in the aircraft, which helps open the parachutes, he said.
“I was too short to attach the line, so the guys had to lift me up so I could do it,” Brunson recalled.
Most of his 27-year Army career was at Fort Bragg, while other assignments were with the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War, and stops at Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Devens, Massachusetts; Frankfurt, Germany; and Vicenza, Italy, before coming back to Fort Bragg during Desert Storm and retiring with the 44th Medical Brigade in 1992.
Brunson said that although he was drafted, he “fell into a pattern” and realized he was “in a brotherhood” with others who shared the same thoughts and values.
“I was around high-spirited folks and guess I bought into the whole thing, and when my time was close to re-up (reenlist), I said ‘Hey let’s do this and move on from there.’”
Oldest son joins
Lt. Gen. Brunson, a 1985 Reid Ross Classical alumnus who’s been in the Army for almost 33 years, said his father’s service is what inspired him to join the military.
“He had a great impact on the lives of those he served with, and it was a family apart from a family for him,” Lt. Gen. Brunson said by phone from his duty station at Joint Base-Lewis McChord in Washington where he is the commander of I Corps. “I wanted some of that, too. I never wanted to be anything other than a soldier because of what I saw my father doing.”
Lt. Gen. Brunson said that when the family lived off Reilly Road near what is now Ben Martin Elementary, he remembered some mornings his father would take him to physical training.
“I was excited to hear the cannon go off in the morning and the cadence of the speakers while we were on Ardennes Street, and I remember growing up and seeing that all the time and thinking how special it was,” he said. “I still feel some kind of way when I get up for morning PT and see soldiers out there fighting the concrete and weight pushing … and seeing the teams of people moving around in place.”
He said that early in his career, his father advised him to “ remember people’s names” and to build a rapport with soldiers to learn what mattered to them.
Lt. Gen. Brunson is a former commander of the 7th Infantry Division at JBLM, was chief of staff for the 18th Airborne Corps, is a former deputy commander of operations for the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, and is a former assistant commander of support for the 1st Special Forces Command.
His earlier assignments have included serving with the 82nd Airborne Division; as commander of the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade; and within Fort Bragg’s special operations community.
Twins join
Col. Havi Brunson, a Westover High School graduate, said that his father probably spent about 19 of his 27 years of service with an airborne unit.
“I think as a kid, I played GI Joe every day, and one of the highlights was every time I got to go see my dad jump,” he said. “I always knew I wanted to jump out of planes. There was not a question about joining the Army. I watched how much my father enjoyed serving and what it meant to be him.”
Havi Brunson said the notion of treating people well is what he learned from his father to carry into his own military career.
“I saw how he interacted with his leaders, his subordinates and his peers, and he was always Albert Brunson and the good man he is today,” he said.
Havi Brunson is currently an executive officer for Defense Logistics Agency.
His prior assignments have included being commander of the 916th Support Brigade at Fort Irwin, California; a branch chief for the Joint Munitions Branch in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; commander of the 725th Brigade Support Battalion at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska; serving as a U.S. Army Special Operations Command company and field grade officer and starting his career as a company grade officer under the 82nd Airborne Division.
His twin brother, Col. Tavi Brunson, also a 1994 Westover graduate, said that growing up, his parents instilled serving others in their sons, whether it was through church or Boy Scouts.
Tavi Brunson also aspired to be like his father, he said.
“He took the time to coach soccer, even though he grew up in a small town that didn’t have soccer, but he took the time to learn about it and was involved in Eagle Scouts,” Tavi Brunson said. “He shaped us into the men we are.”
Tavi Brunson, who is currently an assistant chief of staff for logistics for U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, said he considers it a blessing to be able to serve and be inspired by other soldiers like his father.
He most recently was commander of the 528th Sustainment Brigade at Fort Liberty until July. His prior assignments included serving as chief of the sustainment branch for the Joint Staff and troop commander of support operations under USASOC. He started his career with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Shared service
The Brunson brothers said at one point in their careers, they were all assigned to then-Fort Liberty in the 2004-2005 timeframe, and there have been times when they’ve been able to jump together.
Col. Havi Brunson said he’s changed commands twice with his twin brother during their careers, once in 2002 when they were in Afghanistan and three years after that when they changed company command.
“My brothers have done well in service, and it all comes from a place of being with our father and committing to knowing they could do the same thing,” Lt. Gen. Brunson said.
Tavi Brunson said he considers it a blessing to be able to have shared experiences with his father and brothers, who are able to listen and provide advice and counsel.
All said they heed their father’s advice about taking care of soldiers in their own careers.
“I never miss an opportunity to tell my soldiers I love them,” Tavi Brunson said. “I know it may sound weird, but they’ve all chosen to raise their right hand to serve their nation and make sacrifices and are willing to die for others. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”
Lt. Gen. Brunson said that early during his career as a company commander with the 82nd Airborne Division in 1996, he was sitting on the Sicily Drop Zone with a radio telephone operator named Spc. Silva.
“He said, ‘I heard you’re getting out of the Army,’ and Spc. Silva looked and me and said, ‘If you get out of the Army, who’s going to take care of me?’”
Lt. Gen. Brunson said that conversation helped him continue on in the Army. Years, later, he said crossed paths with Silva, who was a first sergeant in 2008, and they deployed to Iraq together.
“He kept calling me Charlie 6, the call sign for a company commander, and said ‘Hey Charlie 6, it’s my turn now to watch over you,’” Lt. Gen. Brunson said.
Col. Havi Brunson said being in the Army for him has provided him opportunities with his biological family, but he considers those he serves with just as much part of his family.
Family support
Once Sgt. Maj. Brunson retired from the Army, he and his wife of nearly 60 years, Delphine, decided to settle in Fayetteville, where they’d already purchased a home.
He worked for Cumberland County for 19 years, becoming a facility manager of all of the county’s buildings, and became involved in the community through Partnership for Children of Cumberland County and the Sergeants Major Association.
When he was in his 60s, he also graduated from Campbell University a week before his twins graduated from UNC in 1998.
“I’ve basically spent a lot more time with kids and grandkids,” retired Sgt. Maj. Brunson said. “It’s nothing for us to get on a plane and go to Seattle and babysit. It’s all about taking care of the family.”
Brunson and his sons said family and wives have supported them throughout their careers.
Lt. Gen. Brunson’s wife, retired Col. Kirsten Brunson, was the military’s first Black female judge; Col. Tavi Brunon’s wife, Cynthia, was recently board president of the Fort Liberty Bragg N’ Barn Thrift Shop.
Col. Havi Brunson said his wife, Karyn, has made sacrifices in her career as an attorney to support his career as a soldier.
“I think it’s worthwhile to acknowledge how much spouses contribute to the successes of servicemembers and their journey,” he said.
He and his brothers said their mother, Delphine, has been part of the support, too.
“I can only imagine what it feels like as a mother to watch all three of your boys deploying at the same time,” Col. Havi Brunson said. “There has been a steady stream of prayers throughout our careers.”
Lt. Gen. Brunson said his mother made things “look easy” between moves to Italy, Germany and back to the states and always made an effort to reach out during deployments.
"I received an email from her during my first time in Iraq saying, ‘I don’t know where you are, and I can’t call you, but I was thinking about you at midnight,’” he said. “I think for her, she’s always been proud of us. I think her belief in our ability to do things has always been the driving force for us. With every promotion and every award, she’s always there to celebrate.”
Delphine Brunson said that while she grew up in a military family, it’s been different watching her husband and sons serve.
“All I could do is say a prayer,” she said.”I never wanted to deny them of anything they wanted to do for themselves. I’m proud of them.”
She and her husband said their son’s military careers have seemed like a “natural progression” after being involved in Boy Scouts and ROTC when they were younger.
“And the next progression has to be leaders,” retired Sgt. Maj. Brunson said.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Brunson said he is proud of all of his son's accomplishments and credits their faith for getting them through.
"At one time, I was the guy with a rucksack in the family, and now they are," he said. "If it's God's will and they're able to get the job done, they'll continue to do well."
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What inspired Fayetteville Brunson family to serve in the Army
