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<em>Dan Porter Briggs</em> was born in 1914 in the small town of Memphis, MO. There, his early and enduring interest in things mechanical and in aviation was born and nurtured in his father's Ford dealership and small airplane factory. In 1927, two years after his father’s tragic death in an airplane accident, Dan’s mother decided he needed masculine influence in his maturing process. She enrolled him in Missouri Military Academy. At MMA, Dan excelled in sports and music, but it was COL Taylor, the PMS&T and a USMA graduate, who had the most profound influence on Dan’s life at MMA and kindled his desire to pursue an appointment to USMA.</p>
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In 1936, Dan received a congressional appointment and entered the Academy on 1 July. In his autobiography he said, “Beast Barracks was particularly annoying to me because I celebrated my 21st birthday there and my Beast detail corporal was a 16-year-old kid. He was like a little puppy yapping at my heels all day.”</p>
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Dan’s roommates were Joe Donahue and Izzy Shearer, an unlikely threesome who forged bonds of friendship that were to remain strong throughout the rest of their lives. The ’40 Howitzer entry for Dan stated “With an amenable disposition, a mature congeniality, and a paternal patience, he made his tenure a four-year idyll of good fellowship.” Academics were never difficult for Dan, but he truly excelled at horsemanship and was a member of the cadet horse show team. It also was at West Point that Dan further developed and reinforced the high standards of honesty, responsibility, and patriotism that guided him his entire life.</p>
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The other extremely important event that occurred during Dan’s West Point years was his introduction to Bertha Navas on a blind date for the Army—Harvard football game during his Yearling year. A courtship ensued, and when Dan later wrote to her from his first station at Ft. Riley, KS, and asked her to become his bride, she accepted. At the same time, Dan decided that the name “Bertha” didn’t really suit her and enduringly nicknamed her “Babs.” Dan and his beloved Babs married at Ft. Clark, TX, in December 1940—according to Dan, the longest night of the year. Their loving union was to last 58 years and bring them two daughters— Sharon, born in 1942 at Ft. Meade; and Pat, born in 1947 at Ft, Knox.</p>
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Dan’s military career included service with the 106th Cavalry Group in Europe during WWII, where he participated in the St. Lo Breakout and the run across France. Dan ended the war south and east of Salzburg, Austria, where one of his last actions was to join with six other officers in liberating King Leopold of Belgium from his imprisonment by the SS.</p>
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After WWII, Dan was assigned to the Cavalry Board at Ft. Riley, KS, and later to the advanced equitation class, also at Ft. Riley.</p>
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Following those assignments, Dan was sent to the Armor School at Ft. Knox and then to Army Headquarters in occupied Japan.</p>
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From Japan, he went to Korea.</p>
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When hostilities broke out there, Babs and the girls waited for him in Yokohama. Dan then spent 3 1/2 years as Senior Army Advisor to the Idaho National Guard in Boise. After that, he was commander of the 2d Battalion of the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bad Kissingen, Germany, followed by an assignment as Seventh Army G-2 in Stuttgart, Germany; Fourth Army G-3 at Ft. Sam Houston; instructor at CGSC in Ft. Leavenworth; and post G-2/G-3 at Ft. Leavenworth. His career also included an assignment to the G-3 section of HQUSARYS, in Zukeran, Okinawa, and command of the School Brigade at the Armor School at Ft. Knox, KY. His last assignment was as the G-3 at Fifth Army Headquarters at Ft. Sam Houston.</p>
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In April 1968, Dan retired after 30 years of service, and he and Babs settled into their new home on Old Hickory Trail in San Antonio. While stationed in Idaho, Dan had earned his private pilot’s license and, while at Ft. Knox, had taken advantage of the aero club’s facilities to earn his commercial and instrument licenses and his instructor’s certificate. As a result, he was able—upon his retirement from the Army—to begin a second career “working at his hobby.” He was hired as a flight instructor and a charter pilot for Gen Aero Corporation at San Antonio International Airport. One of Dan’s charter passengers was John Connolly, former governor ofTexas. After ten years of his second career, Dan retired again and devoted himself to enjoying his golf game and time with Babs. Back sur gery in 1992 put an end to his golfing, and he and Babs moved into the USAA Towers in 1996.</p>
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Dan suffered a massive heart attack in December 1998 and died in the early morning hours two days later, with Babs and his daughters at his side. We who have been left behind will forever miss his love, wisdom, humor, and strength.</p>