Macdonald Brooke Halsey was born on October 25, 1944, in Lewes, DE. His home of record is Summit, NJ. While his full name was Macdonald Brooke Halsey, named after his father, everyone called him by his middle name, Brooke. He lived in Ojai, California, where he attended The Thacher School. He played tennis and soccer and was part of the debate team.
He graduated in 1962. That same year, the yearbook, El Archivero, was dedicated to his father, Macdonald Halsey who served as a teacher and administrator at the school for 22 years.
Brooke moved to Washington, DC, in 1962 and later moved to Summit, NJ, in 1965 with his parents, Anne and Macdonald Halsey, his brother, Woodruff W. II, and his sister, Comfort.
He enrolled in Princeton University in 1962 and graduated with high honors in 1966. Brooke was a member of the Press Club and the Colonial Club. His senior thesis was entitled Ivy Lee and Russia.
After graduation, Brooke taught American history as a civilian for one year at the American Community School, Beirut, Lebanon, and was on the Job Corps staff at Jersey City. Brooke intended to go to law school after his Vietnam service.
Halsey enlisted into the US Army in 1968 where he attained the rank of Second Lieutenant (2LT). He underwent training at Fort Benning, GA, became an instructor in a Ranger training battalion, was sent to Panama for jungle warfare training, and received his officer’s commission in November 1968.
Halsey, a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, near Saigon, had been on missions at the Phu Cuong Bridge. He was killed in action on July 21, 1969, when he stepped on an enemy landmine.
Memorial services were conducted at Princeton University Chapel and he was buried in Elizabeth, NJ. He posthumously was awarded the Purple Heart.
The Thacher School remembers its alumni in Memorial Hall on campus and Brooke is among those honored. Brooke’s classmates at Princeton University established a scholarship in his name. Nassau Hall at Princeton is dedicated to all alumni who were killed in action.
Sources: The Halsey Family and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024
