20 July 2017
By Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Brennan, who flew Black Hawk helicopters over Afghanistan as an Army captain, got the idea for the memorial in 2014 on a trip to New Mexico. There he met a group of Vietnam veterans making their way across the country as part of Rolling Thunder, an annual cross-country motorcycle caravan that ends at the war memorials in Washington, D.C. every memorial day. Inspired by their camaraderie, Brennan set to work on a memorial for veterans of his own war. That evolved into the creation of the nonprofit Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, where Brennan now works full-time to clear legislative pathways, plan a design competition and raise the $25 million to $35 million needed to build the memorial.
