Lieutenant Colonel Brian D. Birdwell, U.S. Army

Lieutenant Colonel Brian D. Birdwell

US Army, Retired

Inducted 2024

Brian D. Birdwell was born in Fort Worth, Texas and is a graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont with a degree in Criminal Justice.  As a Distinguished Military Graduate of the Lamar University Army ROTC program in 1984, he was commissioned as an officer in the Field Artillery and served a 20-year career with great distinction. During his career, he was stationed across the United States, South Korea, and Germany where he held all the fundamental jobs expected of his branch. He had numerous training deployments to include two operational deployments. In 1990, he deployed as part of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, where he was part of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Battle Group’s Battle of 73 Easting in Iraq when the US Army VII Corps struck the Republican Guard of Saddam Hussein. In 1998, he deployed to Central America as the Joint Operations Officer for Joint Task Force Aguila to execute humanitarian relief operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. In 2001, LTC Birdwell was serving on the Department of the Army staff at the Pentagon as the military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management. On September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, just yards away from his second floor office, he was thrown from his office to ground level. Brian's determination through 39 operations, months of hospitalization and numerous skin grafts is nothing short of miraculous. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received that day. Today, despite physical limitations, he testifies not only to his physical healing, but the ultimate miracle of grace through Christ. Upon retirement in July 2004, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. From 2004 to 2017, Brian and his wife of over 30 years, Mel, operated Face the Fire Ministries, a non-profit organization they jointly founded to support critical-burn survivors and wounded service-members and their families. In 2004, the Birdwell’s jointly authored “Refined by Fire: A Family's Triumph of Love and Faith”, which chronicles their life-changing ordeal. Through the years, Brian has been profiled in numerous national and regional media outlets. He was first elected to the Texas State Senate in a June 2010 special election. He has since been re-elected by his constituents five times, averaging more than 85 percent of votes cast. In his seven legislative sessions, Brian has consistently received critical acclaim and top ratings from numerous state and national organizations. Brian is proud of his diverse and impactful legislative accomplishments while in office. Among these were increasing technical- and associate-degree options for high school graduates and adult students, authoring the strongest border security package in Texas history—the “Stronger Border, Safer Texas Act” and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission bill, among other significant changes as well as other agencies. Since 2013, he has served as Chairman of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's 22-member U.S. Service Academy Nominations Board.