His service to active duty and military veterans has never been out of a desire to win awards, but because of his convictions.
“This caught me by surprise – a pleasant surprise,” said Dr. James Brady, III, who was awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Medal of Honor, its highest and most prestigious award, at a luncheon May 11 at the Augusta Country Club.
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He knew he was in consideration for some type of award because members of the DAR had requested information from him, but he said he’d put it on the shelf and had forgotten about it. He learned a few weeks ago that he would be receiving the honor.
Brady is a long-time member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
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“I grew up hearing all kinds of stories about my ancestors in the Revolutionary War,” he said.
He had a curious mind, though, and didn’t want to take the tales at face value. As he researched, he discovered the stories were steeped in fact. A native of Pennsylvania, he traced his ancestry to an Irish couple who immigrated to the colonies and whose five sons fought in the Revolutionary War.
His research led to his joining of the SAR 35 years ago. He spent 24 years in the military, serving in both the Marine Corps and Army, and then served four years as the civilian-military operations manager in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2005-2009, “ensuring that U.S., NATO and Coalition troops received the very best care possible while deployed to combat outpost,” according to a news release.
His military service brought him joy in his life, he said.
“It wasn’t always fun,” he said. “It was never meant to be fun.”
But it brought fulfillment, as did spending those four years as a civilian contractor.
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Brady is heavily involved in local veterans’ organizations such as the Military Order of the World Wars. He spearheaded the efforts to create a Vietnam War Memorial in downtown Augusta, serving as the chair of the Vietnam War Memorial Initiative.
He has coordinated the annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day observance in downtown Augusta since 2014.
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“The award is presented, once each year, to one natural-born U.S. citizen who has best exemplified the principles of leadership, patriotism, trustworthiness and service throughout their career. In order to be considered for nomination, the recipient must have made unique and lasting contributions to our American heritage by truly giving of himself or herself to his or her community, state, country and fellow man. Dr. Brady was overwhelmingly selected,” according to a news release.
The Augusta Chapter of the DAR was organized Feb. 20, 1892. It’s the third-oldest DAR chapter in the state of Georgia and the 19th oldest in the country, according to member and former regent, Daphne Hopson.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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