Hometown: Auburn, MA
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Unit: 11th Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf, Anchorage, Alaska
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal
Date of Sacrifice: April 27, 2011 - KIA at Kabul Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan
Age: 34
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021

David Brodeur grew up in Auburn, Massachusetts, and dreamed of being a fighter pilot from a young age. He’d fulfill that dream and go on to serve his country in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terrorism, train F-16 fighter pilots, and serve as Executive Officer at a U.S. Air Force Base.

Brodeur’s childhood friend, Tim Morse, told The Boston Globe that the two would go to air shows together and spend hours making model fighter jets. Brodeur was meticulous in making sure that every feature was exactly right. “He was so detailed in every aspect,” Morse recalled.

A standout student and athlete at Auburn High School, Brodeur graduated in 1994 and began to pursue his dream.

After a year of prep school at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, he entered the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1999 and entered active duty. He continued his education by earning a Master of Business Administration and Management from Touro University.

Brodeur married Susan Williams, and the couple would later welcome two children: Elizabeth, and David Jr.

Brodeur completed Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama, then moved to Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, completing his pilot training in April of 2001. His F-16 fighter jet training took place at Luke Air Force Base outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

In March of 2003, the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom in cooperation with the United Nations. Maj. Brodeur flew combat missions in the initial days and months of the operation.

Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed, and the capital city of Baghdad fell just five weeks after the invasion began. But the conflict had just begun. Fighters inspired by the terrorist group al Qaeda poured into Iraq from around the region.

After his service in Iraq, Maj. Brodeur—now an experienced combat pilot—would train others as an F-16 instructor, serve as a Flight Commander and as a Weapons Assistant Director of Operations (ADO) for the Air Force’s 18th Aggressor Squadron.

Recognizing Maj. Brodeur’s leadership and experience, the Air Force appointed him as Executive Officer, Eleventh Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska.

In his second deployment to a war zone, Brodeur was appointed as an advisor to the Afghan Command and Control Center under the NATO Air Training Command in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, “Maj. Brodeur was part of a four-man team whose main duty was to instruct Afghan Air Force personnel on how to professionally run a command center.”

On the morning of April 27, 2011, Maj. Brodeur attended a meeting with other American advisors and Afghan officers. Without warning, an Afghan Air Force colonel fired at least 30 shots from an automatic handgun, killing eight American servicemen—including Brodeur—and a civilian Department of Defense contractor.

Major David L. Brodeur was 34 years old. For his courage and sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals.

Maj. Brodeur was selected by the United States Air Force Academy’s Class of 2016 as its “Class Exemplar”—the individual who “exemplifies” the type of person the class wishes to emulate.

Sources
Details provided by Ms. Susan Brodeur—Maj. Brodeur’s Gold Star Wife
Family information provided by Folds of Honor Foundation
The Boston Globe, April 20, 2011: Pilot’s death shakes Aburn
David Brodeur Memorial Foundation: About Dave
Tunnel to Towers Foundation: David Lawrence Brodeur
Military Times—Honor the Fallen: Air Force Maj. David L. Brodeur
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 11, 2014: Family seeks answers in killing of son in Afghanistan
The Patriot All-America: Soldier Honored: David L. Brodeur
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, via Legacy.com: David Brodeur Obituary
Burial Site: Find a Grave