Photo By Chuck Cannon | Tom Gleason, father of deceased Fort Polk Soldier Pfc. Brian Gleason, was the guest...... read more read more
FORT POLK, La. — Fort Polk’s 519th Military Police Battalion honored the memory of Pfc. Brian Gleason by posting a framed memorial in the patrol room at Directorate of Emergency Services and at battalion headquarters Aug. 9 — 19 years after the accident that claimed his life.
His parents, Tom and Jennifer Gleason attended a senior leader lunch before the presentation.
Tom Gleason is a retired law enforcement officer with more than 30 years of service.
Since the death of his son, he has dedicated his time and efforts to teaching safety to law enforcement officers and was the guest instructor for safety training after the presentation.
Lt. Col. Sonja Whitehead, 519th MP Bn commander, said Brian Gleason’s story is important.
“It focuses on the fact that Soldiers in the Viper Battalion can never take for granted safety in a patrol vehicle,” she said.
Whitehead said she was proud to unveil the framed compilation of pictures memorializing Brian Gleason with his mother and father present.
“The tribute will hang in our DES patrol room in the hallway at our new battalion headquarters. This memorial is not only to help Soldiers remember Pfc. Gleason, but also to aid them in understanding the impact of every action they have in a patrol car,” she said.
Whitehead then thanked Gleason for being at Fort Polk and told him that she knows she and her Soldiers will benefit from his training.
Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commanding general, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, thanked Gleason and his wife for visiting Fort Polk to spend time with the 519th MP Battalion.
“It means a lot to a unit with the kind of esprit de corps they have,” he said.
Frank said you can’t really put a price on what the Viper Battalion does for Fort Polk each and every day.
“Whether you are part of the military police, Directorate of Emergency Services or a Department of the Army civilian, you keep this installation safe and contribute to the mission of this post. You are an exceptional battalion. You do a phenomenal job here. This post could not operate without this battalion,” he said.
Frank then spoke to Gleason about his son.
“I was struck by the fact that your son grew up watching you as a law enforcement professional. He went through basic training, advanced individual training and became a military police officer. You told us he was exceptionally proud of being an MP,” he said. “Brian watched you as a civilian police officer and he wanted to do the same thing — just in camouflage. I believe that his remarks to you were that this was exactly what he had always wanted to do. He said he wanted to be in the Army serving this nation and a military police officer following in his father’s footsteps as a law enforcement professional.”
Frank then hugged Gleason and told him it was an honor to have him at Fort Polk talking to the Vipers and trying to keep them safe.
Gleason thanked everyone for the memorial to his son and said he was honored to be at Fort Polk.
As he began the safety training he asked the audience to be patient with him because sometimes when he does the training and talks about his son, he gets choked up.
“I’ll remember something about him and I never know when it will hit me,” he said.
In his own words on the Officer Down Memorial Page, www.odmp.org, Gleason said not a day goes that he doesn’t think about Brian and how long it has been since he and his wife lost him. He also said that the training he does for other Soldiers gives him the opportunity to share his son’s story with officers all over the country.
“My only wish is through our loss someone else will be saved. Brian will always be missed and loved,” Gleason said of his son.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2019 10:35 |
| Story ID: | 336179 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 280 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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