Biography of Major Thomas J. Brennan
A few years ago I started researching the 732nd Railroad Battalion and then was unable to continue until recently. I received an email from a gentleman regarding my father, Major Thomas Brennan, and it encouraged me to go through the pictures I have in my file taken during the time my Father was in WWII.
Major Thomas Brennan was given the rank of Lt. Col. on June 1, 1945, but during his service he was Major, so I will continue to refer to that Title.
A brief bio of Major Brennan is as follows:
Thomas Brennan was born in Streeter, Illinois, on September 3, 1902. He and his family moved to Montana and in 1917, at the age of 16, he went to work for the Great Northern Railway as an engine wiper. He worked at that off and on for 2 years. The rest of the time he helped his father, also a railroad man, who had homesteaded a dry land farm at Joplin, Montana.
In 1919 he went to work steady with the Great Northern as a carpenter in the bridges and building department. He worked as a laborer until 1922 when he switched to the operations division.
Thomas married Claire Preeshl in 1928 at Shelby, Montana. They had 6 children, a son, Thomas, a daughter, Drucilla, twins, Jim and George, both of whom died at six months of age, a daughter, Deanna and another daughter, Rebecca.
Thomas Brennan taught himself telegraphy and worked as an operator and agent “all over Montana.”. In 1937 he was promoted to dispatcher and in 1940 he was made trainmaster at Havre, Montana.
He enlisted when WWII began and served as Major while he was in the Army.
After the war he returned to Havre as trainmaster and was there until 1947 when he was transferred to Wenatchee as trainmaster. He was made assistant superintendent in 1956 and held that position until he retired in February, 1965.
He passed away on September 9, 1973.
This is a 3 part blog post see the second half of the photos and the key to some of them on subsequent posts.
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