#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Arnold J. Braasch

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Arnold J. Braasch. who served as an artificer with the 25th Division during the Korean War.

The Army drafted Arnold Braasch while he was living in Chicago, Illinois. He completed eight weeks of basic training at Fort Knox and then eight weeks of armored tank training. He was then designated as an artificer, or arms repairman, and completed an additional ten weeks of schooling at the Army armor school.

After taking a two-week furlough, Braasch boarded a troop ship to Pusan, Korea. Once in Pusan, he served with the 89^th Tank Battalion of the 25^th Division, a service unit tasked with replacing other tanks on the main line. One of Braasch’s most memorable assignments was near Heartbreak Ridge. He served as a repairman while there. After spending one year in Korea, he returned to the U.S. on July 27, 1953.

Braasch left the Army in 1953 and returned to Chicago, where he became involved with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

He passed away Nov. 15, 2020.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Contributors

Writer: Slavic Yezersky/Sarah Concepcion

Editor: Taryn Gehman

Fact checker: Tavia Wager

Graphic artist: Emma Catlett