Henry Paul Brauner was born on January 26, 1936, at Middlesex General Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, to Henry and Gertrude Brauner. He was raised in Milltown, NJ, until 1951, when the family moved to Franklin Park, NJ. His home of record is Franklin Park, NJ. Henry had one brother and two sisters. He attended South River High School and Princeton High School. His hobbies were model airplanes, fresh water fishing, skiing, track, Glee Club and playing the violin. He was on the cross country track team at South Cross and Princeton High School. Henry graduated from Rutgers University in 1957, with a degree in English.

Henry loved his ’28 Ford which had a rumble seat. This was a family car which his folks gave to him when he attended Rutgers. He painted the car yellow. The inside he recovered with leopard skins. It became the lead car in all the parades while Henry attended Rutgers. His brother, Ron, still has it in Indiana, and keeps it as a family heirloom.

Henry entered the US Air Force on June 5, 1957. From November 1957 to January 1959, he studied flight training with the 3306 Pilot Training School at Bainbridge Air Force Base in Georgia and the 3640 Pilot Training Squadron at Laredo Air Force Base, CA. In May 1959, he was promoted to First Lieutenant (1LT). Upon graduation from flying school, Henry was assigned to the 20th Air Transport Squadron at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, as the navigator of a C-124 aircraft. In May 1962, Henry was reassigned overseas to the 67th Air Rescue Squadron at Prestwick Air Station in Scotland as a navigator. In October 1962, he was promoted to Captain (CAPT). In June 1965, he was assigned to McClellan Air Force Base in California.

Henry attended several schools to advance his career, (Aircrew Refresher Course and Airborne Sensor Interpretation Course.) In November 1968, he was promoted to Major. In March and April, Henry took courses in AC-130A aircraft navigation and jungle survival. Upon graduation from this course, he was assigned to South East Asia as the navigator on an AC-130A gunship. By this time, he was married to Gloria Radar, who was also in the Air Force and had two daughters, Cindy and Kristen.

Brauner was reported missing in action in Laos on March 29, 1972, when his C-130 transport plane was shot down by missiles. It fell in flames but there were later reports that a radio beacon was detected emanating from the site. One day earlier, Brauner risked his life under enemy fire to rescue a pilot who had been shot down.

Brauner received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the National Defense Service Medal, the Air Force Longevity Award with 2 Oak Leaf clusters, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Award, the Combat Readiness Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal with 4th through 11th Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars. He was also posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (LTC).

There is a memorial at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, dedicated to the graduates who were killed or missing in action from the Vietnam War. Brauner’s name is listed among those missing.

In May 2008, Brauner’s remains were identified and his status was changed to Remains Repatriated. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

My Dad
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Paul Brauner

We have a picture of my dad, I’m guessing at the age of about 7 years old, sitting in front of an airplane with his brother. I know one thing about my dad: he loved to fly and lived to do so. It was his passion; not just a job of obedience to his country and the people above him.

He went to Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he wanted to learn all he could about the Air Force and enter into the Air Force as a Lieutenant. With an IQ of 161, he was smart enough to decide that he did not want to start his career, where most people start, at the bottom of the totem pole. He worked hard to reach the level where he was when he died for our country. I heard that he was asked to fly for the president prior to his death. Although he was honored to be asked to do such a thing, he chose rather to continue navigating for the Air Force.

He meant the world to his family, who loved him very much. This made his death very hard on all of us, in different ways. (As we are all different and handle things differently)

I am his oldest daughter, Cyndi Lyn Waldmann, who was daddy’s girl. I always had to be close to him when he was home, as I missed him and longed for him to be home. I sat on his lap, whenever I could. He played with us children, often bucking us off, as though he were a horse!! We have a picture of him as a teenager, riding a horse. He liked to joke around with us, but we sometimes were not sure he was joking, because he could be so serious. These are just a few of the things that I know about my Dad, as I knew him in the ten years I had him.

Dad’s death was very hard for my Mom. She was very emotional and did not like to talk about it. My dad liked to write and to write poetry. I will have to find one of his poems and put it on this web site. I too, like to write poetry, and enjoy writing. Perhaps a trait I got from my Dad. I’ve written a poem about my dad that I hope to add to this site.

Yes, his death was hard on all of us. He was only considered Missing In Action (M.I.A.), after his right wing had gotten blown off. The chance of survival was very slim, although the Air Force left you with the thought that he may still be alive. That meant he could be a Prisoner Of War (P.O.W.). After 7 years, in 1979, they considered him to be Killed In Action (K.I.A.). It did not matter that the terminology had changed, for we were always hopeful that he was alive. I have even a greater hope, now, for I have found out that he was raised in a Christian home. I hope to see him in Heaven when I die.

I often, as a child, and occasionally as an adult, had a recurring dream of him returning home. Stranger, was to realize that others had had a similar dream. My sister, Kris E. Holsey, and my mother-in-law, Ann E. Waldmann. Mom Waldmann knew my dad and his parents, when she and my Dad were teens. I find comfort in the fact that the family that I married into knows about my dad and of his family. I have been able to hear about his younger days, and stay in touch with his surviving brother and sister.

I would like to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle picture of my Dad. I hope to make a creative album to remember him by!

Written by Cyndi Lyn Waldmann, Eldest Daughter

Synopsis (from the POW Network) as to the circumstances behind being listed as MIA:
On the night of March 29, 1972, an AC130A Hercules “Spectre” gunship departed Ubon Airfield, Thailand on a night reconnaissance mission over supply routes used by North Vietnamese forces in Laos. The crew of the aircraft consisted of pilots Maj. Irving B. Ramsower II and Lt. Charles J Wanzel III, the navigator, Maj. Henry P. Bauner, and crew members Maj. Howard D. Stephenson, Capt. Curtis D. Miller, Capt. Barclay B. Young, Capt. Richard Castillo, Capt. Richard C. Halpin, SSgt. Merlyn L Paulson, SSgt. Edwin J. Pearce, SSgt. Edward D. Smith Jr., SSgt. James K. Caniford; and Airmen First Class William A. Todd and Robert E. Simmons.

As the aircraft was in the jungle foothills 56 miles east of Savannakhet in southern Laos, it was shot down by a Russian Surface to Air Missile (SAM). U.S. government sources stated in February 1986 that a fighter escort plane reported that the aircraft crashed in a fireball, no parachutes were seen, nor was radio contact made with the AC130 or any of its crew. In 1972, however, the Pearce family was told that an F4 support plane traveling with the AC130 heard “so many beepers he couldn’t count them” and that the emergency beeper carrier by the crew could only be activated manually. The Pearce family took this as strong proof that a number of the crew survived. The support aircraft plane left the area to refuel. When it returned, there were no signs of life.

Sources: Sylvia Jacobson (sister), Cyndi Lyn Waldmann (daughter) and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024