Military Milestones: Pasadena Family Has Sent Six Into Service

When 2011 Chesapeake High graduate Brandon Bryley decided in 2017 that he wanted to join the Navy, he didn’t have to look far for inspiration. His grandfather, John Williams, was once a Marine and had four brothers who also served in the military.

Only one of the brothers is still alive, but two generations later, Bryley is carrying on the tradition of the family’s service. He initially wanted to join the Marine Corps, but as he grew older, he developed an affinity for being on the water.

A Navy recruiter found the right words to sway Bryley. He was at Divers Academy International in New Jersey after attending Wesley College, and he decided to finish his diving season before heading to Pensacola, Florida, in winter 2018 for A School as an air traffic controller.

The eight-week boot camp in Illinois was not what he expected.

“I thought it was going to be if you’re strong and you’re smart, you get by and it’s actually the complete opposite,” he said. “We were put in divisions. You’re only as strong as your weakest link.”

Since arriving in Pensacola, Bryley has held positions as administrator of his barracks (assisting the military training instructors), class leader and formation leader. He has excelled in other areas, too. Bryley came in second place for the 25 to 29 age group at the sixth annual Blue Angels Rock N Fly 5K on March 23.

He is set to graduate from the A School in Pensacola, Florida, on May 10. He will then be sent to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.

While Bryley is embarking on the beginning of his military career, his family has been piecing together the past using news clippings. One in particular noted the service of his grandfather, Williams, and two half-brothers named James “Jimmy” Hannan and Joe Hannan.

Williams was a supply specialist in Quantico, Virginia. Younger half-brother Joe Hannan was a Marine serving in Korea but was lucky enough to avoid the war zone. Two other half-brothers, Charles “Leo” Kelm and Bernard Kelm of Pasadena, also joined the Marines.

The sole living veteran is James Hannan, who lives in Bowie, Maryland. He said he joined the Air Force at age 18 in 1950 because everybody else was doing it, and it was a good job and training to start with. James was a staff sergeant with the 57th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron in Oahu, Hawaii.

“I worked in the supply office,” he said. “I received all kinds of materials, clothing, tools, etc. I handed out tools to the airplane mechanics and clothing to pilots.”

His military service spanned November 1950 to July 1954.

“As part of my job, I was one of the few people who had the opportunity to see the box that held the first hydrogen bomb for testing in the Pacific in 1952,” he said.

James also has a strong recollection of his younger half-brother Charles “Leo” Kelm serving in the Marine Corps.

“He originally volunteered for Seal training, but when the war got going, he was pulled from that training to become a squad leader in the jungles of Vietnam,” James said.

Bryley won’t be thrashing through the jungles of Vietnam, but he’s pleased with his decision to join the Navy, and he has sage advice for anyone considering the same decision.

“If somebody is thinking about doing it, don’t overthink it, because you might psyche yourself out or think of only the cons or other routes you can take with your life,” Bryley said. “You might think eventually you will find something better, but then you’ll look back with regret.”

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