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<em>Andre Ringgold Brousseau,</em> called “Bruce” by his classmates, descended from a distinguished Louisiana family whose members contributed to the history of the state. He was born in Baton Rouge, LA, the third of seven children of Maunsell White Brousseau and Laura Maine Brousseau. After attending Catholic elementary and high schools, he enrolled in Louisiana State University, where he pledged Sigma Chi fraternity. One year later he received an appointment to West Point, entering in 1936.</p>
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During summer camp of his first year, Bruce met Betty Lynn Tingay, the only child of COL Lynn Tingay, an Academy dental surgeon, and Marchie Baldwin Tingay. His proudest cadet achievements were being on the winning goat football team and the I Company lacrosse and basketball teams, and capturing Betty from the rest of the Corps of Cadets. Bruce and Betty married in the West Point Catholic chapel on graduation day, 15 Jun 1940.</p>
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With war erupting in Europe, Bruce was sent to pilot training at Love Field in Dallas, and Randolph and Kelly fields in San Antonio, TX. In April 1941, he went to Newfoundland as a pilot with the 21st Reconnaissance Squadron. He returned to MacDill Field, FL, in September for bomber pilot training and then joined the 326th Bomber Squadron, 92d Bomb Group, in Sarasota, FL. Their first child, Andrea Lynn, was born in December 1941.</p>
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Bruce became the commanding officer of the 326th Bomber Squadron and led the entire 92d Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, in the first heavy bombardment group of its size to successfully make a non-stop flight across the North Atlantic. Arriving in England in August 1942, Bruce began leading bombing runs over Germany, which resulted in him being awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and four Air Medals. His unit also received the Presidential Unit Citation.</p>
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His flight mission quota completely filled, Bruce became, in turn, the group operations officer and XO of the 92d Bomb Group. In November 1944, he was transferred back to the States as director of training and operations at Bolling Field, Washington, DC, where their daughter, Mary Catherine, was born in August 1945. In 1946, Bruce returned to West Point as a tactical officer, and their son, Robert Tingay, was born there in May 1948.</p>
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Now in the Air Force, Bruce and his family were stationed at Maxwell AFB, AL; Barksdale AFB, LA; and Lubbock AFB, TX, before being transferred back to Europe in 1950, where he attended the Royal Staff College in Andover, England, for one year. With the advent of NATO, Bruce was assigned to the Military Advisory Group, London, and then to the Military Assistance Division at European Command headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Their second son, John Stephen, was born there in February 1953.</p>
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After Germany, Bruce was assigned to the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL, as a student for one year and as Deputy Director of Academic Instruction and as a faculty instructor for four years. From Maxwell, he went to the Pentagon, working in the Air Force Operations Division. In 1962, Bruce moved back to Europe, this time to Wiesbaden, Germany, as Deputy Commander for Communications at Headquarters for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. After this three-year tour, he was assigned to Washington, DC, as Chief of Flight Inspections for the Federal Aviation Administration.</p>
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Bruce’s last tour of duty was at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS, not far from the beaches where he played with his vacationing family in the summers of his youth. He was vice commander of the Technical Training Center at Keesler during the height of the Viet Nam War. He retired in Biloxi in 1968 and received the Legion of Merit for exceptional performance in this position.</p>
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Bruce devoted ten happy years after retirement to Betty, their children, and grandchildren, and pursued various hobbies such as golfing, auto tinkering, fishing, and boat building. Bruce and Betty lost most of their belongings in Hurricane Camille in 1969 but persevered. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, worked as a financial advisor, and volunteered at church. One of the memories his children hold dear were Bruce’s weekly letters to his mother. He wrote faithfully every week of his adult life and also wrote weekly to each of his children while they were in college. Just as his last child graduated from dental school, Bruce was stricken with a malignant brain tumor. His last battle was a brief and devastating one. He joined the Long Gray Line at Keesler Medical Center at age 60.</p>
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The <em>Register of Graduates</em> records Bruce’s service to his country. The values that guided him were his devotion to God, his country, and his family. Each day, Bruce worked hard, loved his family, and sought God’s grace. Serious and dedicated, with a spontaneous humor he displayed mostly among close friends, his death was an utter shock to all who knew and loved him. His mother survived this great loss and lived to the age of 103. Betty died in 1996, and is buried next to Bruce.</p>
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Godspeed, Andre Ringgold Brousseau—our Bruce. We miss your grin, honor your life, and cherish your memory.</p>
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<em>Tommy Muller ’40, and the Brousseau children</em></p>