Arlington Funeral Makes History For Corps

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Arlington Funeral Makes History For Corps

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 7, 2009 9:27:06 EST

On a cold and blustery afternoon, Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan became part of history at Arlington National Cemetery.

Brennan, 25, became the first junior enlisted Marine eligible for burial with full military honors at Arlington. His service Thursday included an escort platoon, drummers from “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, a casket team, a firing party and a bugler. Brennan’s family chose to opt out of using a horse-drawn caisson that is frequently a part of full-honors funerals in order to conduct the service on the soonest possible date, said Kaitlin Horst, an Army spokeswoman at Arlington.

Brennan, a machine gunner with Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, was killed Jan. 24 in Farah province, Afghanistan. His death was the last in a rapid change of events for the Marine, who went from being a card-carrying member of the Screen Actor’s Guild in New York to enlisting in May, his family said in media reports. He quietly married his fiancée before deploying.

Brennan’s parents described themselves as anti-war in several news reports, but said their son had been interested in the military for years. He became more serious about enlisting after his grandfather, retired Lt. Col. James Brennan, died in 2005, according to the New York Daily News. The late officer fought on Iwo Jima, earning a Navy Cross.

In a profile he posted to the Web site Friendster, Brennan described himself as “kinda a goof-ball .”

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