Culture.Mil - Brems Barracks

Written by Jenifer Chrisman on April 27, 2015.

Brems Barracks
Dedicated in the memory of
Patrick J. Brems Private First Class
Military Police Corps
Killed in Action
Vietnam 1 April 1966

Brems Barracks was dedicated* in May of 1967 to honor the heroic sacrifice of PFC Patrick J. Brems, Company C, 716th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Group.
Born on September 19, 1946, in River Edge, New Jersey, PFC Brems is buried at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 48, Site 197) and is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Panel 6E, Row 70). Aside from Brems Barracks, Brems, along with two other war casualties, had an American Legion Post (Manwah, NJ, where his parents relocated in 1965) named is his memory. He also was awarded the Silver Star posthumously on April 17, 1966, just sixteen days after his death at the age of 19. The citation reads:

Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War
…Private First Class Brems distinguished himself on 1 April 1966 while serving as a military policeman performing security duties at the Victoria Hotel, a billet for American officers in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam. At approximately 0510 hours, a Viet Cong terrorist force approached the hotel with an explosive laden vehicle in an attempt to destroy the hotel and kill the American officers living there. As the terrorist approached his position, Private First Class Brems opened fire in the face of overwhelming odds and encouraged his Vietnamese counterpart to attempt to repulse the Viet Cong attack. Facing the charging vehicle and intense automatic weapons fire, he delivered maximum fire power and forced the driver to abandon the vehicle short of its intended goal. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Private First Class Brems continued to fire at the escaping terrorists until he was mortally wounded by the explosion of the vehicle. Through his courage, and devotion to duty, he not only prevented the explosive laden vehicle from entering the hotel, but also provided warning time for the occupants of the building to take cover. Because of Private First Class Brems’ mental alertness, a terrorist was subsequently captured with an automatic weapon. Private First Class Brems’ extraordinary heroism in close combat against a numerically superior hostile force at the cost of his life was in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

At the time the barracks complex was dedicated* to PFC Brems memory, it included 61 buildings constructed on a 71-acre site and was the home of the 4th Training Brigade MP. Located near the PX on 40th Avenue and the surrounding area, the barracks are single-story cement block buildings, some of them covered with ribbed metal sheeting. Although Brems Barracks started out as an MP school it has since served other functions, including radioteletype operator training in the 80s, and is currently being used for such purposes as The Swap & Assist Shop, Thrift Shop, Youth Challenge Academy and training area (since September 2000), Troop U-DO-IT and a DPTMS Installation Support Detachment area.

According to Thomas Viljac, Alpha Company, 31 Charlie (Single Channel Radio Operator), 1985, “Brems Barracks was known as ‘The Fort within The Fort’ with barb wire fencing all around the perimeter of our old Quanson huts. We were there 13 weeks and one day. It was extremely hard; (it) made Basic Training at Fort Jackson look like a walk in the park.” He went on to say, “All other military on Post knew it was hell… From the Main Gate when you entered the Post, if you looked to the left and about 200 feet in the air were extremely tall telephone-like poles (billboard-style), the sign was black with bold, block-style lettering and (there) was a quote that read, “‘A Soldier must first train for combat, anything else is Bullshit’ minus the shit part...” signed General George S. Patton. This was in the middle of our PT field at the entrance to our compound. When we would do Company PT runs outside the gates we had high speakers on a flatbed truck with “Eye of The Tiger” playing as loud as it could!”

Mr. Viljac’s family have retired from all branches of service and his son is applying to West Point this year. He noted that, “…if not for our military experiences in our family and direct influence from our military days, this might not be possible.” Of his own experiences he said, “It was a moment in time that has stuck with me my entire life due to the high level of discipline! I have been rewarded through my personal/professional life from this experience! Our motto was ‘Excellence First.’ Our Cadre were the Best; they knew how to break you down and make you perform. They did their jobs well. It made all of us proud to be a Brems Barrack Tiger and Soldier of the United States Army. God Bless The USA and thank you for your service.”

Dedicated to a young man of great courage and devotion to duty, Brems Barracks has a long and proud history. As it says on the Brems Barracks Facebook page, “The heat, the dust, Brems!”

If anyone who trained at Brems Barracks would like to add more insight or their own thoughts on their time there, please feel free to comment below.

Story requested by: Thomas Viljac, Brems Barracks graduate.

Sources:

*Notes: Dedication information according to an MP Journal article (July 1967) “MP School Barracks Complex at Fort Gordon dedicated to PFC Brems.” While the original article does not appear to be available online, several reference to it are available, as well as an MP Bulletin list denoting the article’s existence.