DOB/DOD: May 13, 1978 (Santa Clara, CA) – May 3, 2006; 27 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Autumn L. Crane (1977-) on April 21, 2001, in Indianapolis, Indiana
CHILDREN: One son, Dillon S. (2003-)
LOCAL ADDRESS: Pendleton Road; New Britain
ENLISTMENT: June 6, 1999
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0302; Infantry Officer
UNIT: Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division; Plainville, Connecticut
FAMILY: Born to Milton R. (1955-) and Nellie June Letendre (1956-). Two brothers, Justin P. (1979-) and Nicholas A. (1991-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal with V device for Valor, Purple Heart Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with V device for Valor, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon with device, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal with device, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, and the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Killed in Action when a suicide car bomber attacked his observation post in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
Potomac High School (Dumfries, VA); Class of 1996. He was voted “Best Personality” in his senior year.
Milligan College (Elizabethton, TN); Class of 2000
From the Elizabethton (Tennessee) Star on May 10, 2006
MILLIGAN GRADUATE KILLED IN IRAQ
Captain Brian S. Letendre, a 2000 graduate of Milligan College, was killed May 3 when a suicide car bomber attacked his observation post in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense. He was 27 and had just volunteered for his second tour in Iraq. Letendre grew up in Woodbridge, Virginia, and attended Milligan College from 1997-2000, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a minor in communications. There, he met and married his wife, Autumn Crane Letendre, a 1999 Milligan graduate from Indianapolis. They married in 2001 and have a 3-year-old son, Dillon. Letendre was commissioned a lieutenant by the Marine Corps in May 2000 following his graduation from Milligan. He trained to become a military infantry officer and was part of the force that invaded Iraq in 2003. He received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Valor. After returning from Iraq in 2003, Letendre was assigned to be the inspector-instructor for Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, a Marine Reserve unit headquartered in Plainville, Connecticut. His job was to prepare the unit’s members for deployment. When the unit was called up recently for its first Iraq duty, Letendre voluntarily joined them for a second tour. “Brian was an extremely hard worker. He was very determined in everything he did,” said Dr. Bruce Montgomery, associate professor of communications at Milligan and Letendre’s academic advisor. Montgomery, who will officiate at the funeral service and burial, got to know Brian and Autumn well through his role as chaplain of the Milligan soccer teams and through his speech and communications courses. Besides his wife and son, Letendre is survived by his parents, Milton and June Letendre of Woodbridge, Virginia, and two brothers, Justin and Nick. Letendre’s father-in-law, Larry Crane of Indianapolis, is a 1971 Milligan alumnus. His wife’s grandparents, Earl and Ann Griffith of Bluff City, Tennessee, are also Milligan alumni. Funeral services will be held next week in Woodbridge, Virginia, with burial at Arlington National Cemetery. At the family’s request, a soccer scholarship fund has been established in Letendre’s memory at Milligan College. Contributions may be sent to the Captain Brian S. Letendre Memorial Soccer Scholarship, Milligan College, P.O. Box 750, Milligan College, TN 37682.
From The Hartford Courant on May 11, 2006
Captain Brian S. Letendre, USMC, 27, died in Iraq on (May 3, 2006) while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province. He was born on May 13, 1978, in Stanford, California, but spent his childhood in Woodbridge, VA. Brian attended Rippon Elementary and Middle School and graduated from Potomac High School in 1996. Brian was an excellent student, the captain of the varsity soccer team, and participated in other extracurricular activities. He continued to play soccer on scholarship while attending Milligan College in Tennessee, where he also met his future wife, the former Autumn Crane from Indiana. During the summer of 1999, Brian attended the Platoon Leader Course at Quantico Marine Base, Virginia. After graduating from Milligan in May 2000 with a degree in Computer Science, Brian was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, USMC. He then attended the Basic School and Infantry Officer Course at Quantico in 2001; he and Autumn were married that spring in Indiana. Brian was then assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and served tours in Okinawa, Japan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2003, he deployed to Iraq as an Infantry Platoon Commander participating in the liberation of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The day before he crossed the border into Iraq, Autumn gave birth to their son, Dillon. Upon his return to the States, Brian was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Inspector and Instructor active-duty staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment in Plainville, Connecticut, and was promoted to the rank of Captain on January 1, 2005. He then volunteered to join a newly formed elite unit to advise and instruct an Iraqi Battalion in combat operations. As the Infantry Tactics Instructor, Brian trained with this team for four months before returning to Iraq in April 2005. He was recognized throughout his military career as an exceptional leader and was awarded multiple citations and medals, including the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a Combat “V,” the Army Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Iraqi Campaign Medal, and three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. In addition to his wife, Autumn, and their son, Dillon (3), of Indianapolis, Indiana. Brian is also survived by his parents, Milt and June Letendre of Woodbridge, Virginia; his brothers Justin Letendre and Nicholas Letendre; paternal grandfather, Milton Letendre and wife Colleen Letendre of Spencer Massachusetts; maternal grandmother Marie E. Letendre (1934-1978), Paternal grandmother Nellie Ryan of Ocala, Florida, paternal grandfather Joseph Ryan (1936 -2003), sister-in-law, Bonnie Letendre and a nephew Tristan Letendre, a niece Cadence Letendre and multiple aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends who will miss him dearly. Local memorial services will be held Friday, May 12, at 10:00 a.m. at the West Hartford United Methodist Church, 1358 New Britain Ave, West Hartford. The family will receive friends on Sunday, May 14, at Mount Castle Funeral Home at 4143 Dale Blvd. Dale City, Virginia, from 3 to 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held Monday, May 15, at 7:30 a.m. at the Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, Virginia, followed by burial at Arlington Cemetery with military honors. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Autumn Letendre, 5022 Rockville Rd, Indianapolis, IN, 46224. And Milt and June Letendre, 16013 Laconia Cir, Woodbridge, VA 22191. Condolences may be sent to Mount Castle Funeral Home (listed above). In lieu of financial contributions, donations can be made payable to the “Dillon Letendre Trust Fund,” The Law Office of Michelle Jackson, 155 E Market St, Suite 400, Indianapolis, IN 46204, or the “Brian S. Letendre Soccer Scholarship, Milligan College,” Milligan College, P.O. Box 750, Milligan College, TN 37682.
Less than nine months after presenting a Purple Heart medal and certificate in Glastonbury on August 11 to the mother of a Marine killed in Iraq, Marine Captain Brian S. Letendre, third from left in this file photo, himself was slain on Wednesday in Iraq’s Al Anbar province. Receiving the items was Anita Dziedzic, mother of Sergeant David J. Coullard; at left, her husband, Greg Dziedzic; at right, Staff Sergeant Darren M. Murphy. (Photo by Rick Hartford)
Memorialized at Field #1 Howison Homestead Soccer Complex, 14716 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia; article from WhatsUpWoodbridge.com on June 13, 2016
WOODBRIDGE SOCCER FIELD NAMED FOR FALLEN MARINE
Over the weekend, a soccer field in Woodbridge was named for a fallen Marine. Marine Captain Brian Letendre, a Potomac High School graduate and avid soccer player, was killed while fighting in Iraq in 2006, according to Prince William County Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Dianne Cabot Wahl. “Brian was killed in the line of duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was one of the very first young people that we lost in service – service people that we lost – at the beginning of the war,” said Cabot Wahl. Letendre, who left behind a wife and young son, was involved with Prince William Soccer, Inc. in his childhood, and the field naming was a way for the organization to honor his service and love of the sport. After a long approval process, the regulation-size turf field No. 1, which is a part of the Howison Homestead Soccer Complex at 14716 Minnieville Road, was named the Brian Letendre Field. “The field that [we named] for him was actually one of the fields that he used to practice on,” said Cabot Wahl. During the dedication ceremony, Prince William Soccer Executive Director Mike Yeatts spoke about Letendre, and American Legion Post 290’s Color Guard performed.
Memorialized at the Prince William County Complex’s Freedom Park at 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, Virginia.
Memorialized on Bridge #04247 at High Street and Route 72 in New Britain, Connecticut.
Memorialized at USMC Memorial Park, Sunnyslope Drive and Pendleton Road, New Britain, Connecticut.
On a weathered plaque in the park, the following is written:
Captain Brian S. Letendre U.S.M.C. Memorial Park
In Memory of Captain Brian S. Letendre
Killed in action while conducting combat operations against
Enemy forces in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on May 3, 2006
Dedicated the 8th day of March 2008
As Petitioned to the City of New Britain by Captain Letendre’s Neighbors and Friends
In Honor of His charismatic leadership, his focused and motivational impact on
civilians as witnessed in his inspirational 2005 Memorial Day Services Keynote
Address in Fairview Cemetery honoring fallen veterans.
And for his endearing nature and the strong connections he developed while living
at 131 Pendleton Road in New Britain for the 18 months he was stationed in Plainville.
Achievements
Officer Candidates School, Quantico
Graduate of Infantry Officer’s Course
Served with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment
Completed three deployments:
Okinawa, Japan
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq
Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor
Graduate of Survival (SERE) School
Sector Instructor for Company C, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment,
4th Marine Division at the Marine Reserve Center in Plainville
January 1, 2005 – Promoted to Captain
Re-Deployed to Iraq as Iraqi Tactics Instructor
Medal/Awards: Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Heart,
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V,
Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (Second Award),
Presidential Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award,
Navy Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal,
Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal & Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (Third Award)
Survived by his wife, Autumn, son Dillon,
parents Milton and June Letendre and brothers Justin and Nick Letendre
Remembered by his peers as an exemplary Marine officer, as well as a great father, Brian followed his heart. Brian was a kind, compassionate young officer
who loved his country and his family. He served his men and their families
honorably during some of their most challenging times. He believed that
being in Iraq was right, and that no one should resist the chance to liberate
Another human being, even if it meant putting his life on the line.
He was a consummate Marine and a True American Hero
“SEMPER FIDELIS”
“Always Faithful”
Faithful to Our Nation, To Each Other, To the Cause We Serve
Captain Letendre is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section 60, Site 8328.
