Margaret E. Brewster – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army

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From a contemporary press report:

BREWSTER, MARGARET E. ”Margo” LTC, USA (Ret.)

Margaret E. “Margo” Brewster passed away Wednesday, August 11, 1999, after a short illness. She was a resident of San Antonio, Texas since 1966, after she retired from the US Army following a distinguished career.

A native of Beatrice, Nebraska, she went to school with the boy who later became a movie star, Robert Taylor (who, she delightedly recalls, gave her her very first kiss). Margo attended Columbia College in Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri. She received her master’s degree in psychology and education from the University of Michigan. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Upon graduation she began her career as an instructor of physical education at Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti, and at Indiana University.

Shortly after World War II began, she enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), joining her three brothers in military service, and remained in the Corps when it became a part of the regular Army in 1943.

During the war, she was stationed at New Delhi, India, then in Kandy, Ceylon with a US/British command, Southeast Asia Command (SEAC), headed by Lord (Admiral) Louis Mountbatten. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, Margo was assigned to the first WAC center in Des Moines, Iowa. After the war, she was placed in the Ready Reserve, from which she was recalled in 1948 to return to active duty.

She was among the first group of 200 women officers selected for entry in the Regular Army and remained in various positions of increasing responsibility until her retirement in 1965 from the position of Deputy Chief of Foreign Military Training Division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations (DCSOPS) at the Pentagon. She was a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, and her decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Army Commendation Medal, Army Occupation Medal (Germany), General Staff Officer Identification Badge, and Asiatic Campaign Ribbon.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Lee and Lillian French Brewster, and her brothers, Edward and William Brewster. Colonel Brewster is survived by her brother, retired Ambassador Robert C. Brewster and his wife Mary of Washington, DC; her nephew, Stephen Lee Brewster, nieces, Suzanne Brewster Duncan, both of Austin, TX and nieces, Sharon Clair Brewster of Arlington, VA, Sally Jane Brewster of Lakeway, TX; sister-in-law, Laverne S. Brewster of Georgetown, TX; and several grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Colonel Brewster’s remains will be taken to Arlington National Cemetery for burial on Thursday, August 26 at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that mourners donate to their favorite charities.

  • Brewster, Margaret Elizabeth
  • Born 12 September 1912
  • Died 11 August 1999
  • US Army, Lieutenant Colonel
  • Section 68, Grave 2412
  • Buried 26 August 1999

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