Once upon a time…

A female Field Artillery, “King of Battle,” Officer met a National Guard Infantry, “Queen of Battle,” Officer, and they fall in love. This story is incredible and far from conventional, but they are happy to share the Goree details…

Brennar was stationed at Fort Benning for his Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course (I-BOLC). He was tasked to secure a speaker for his I-BOLC graduation. Brennar felt compelled to ask COL (Ret.) Puckett, the last surviving Korean War Medal of Honor recipient and a local legend to the Infantry and Ranger communities. Brennar’s upbringing was traditional; therefore, he believed a letter was the only suitable course of action, and of course, his wife, Jeannie, deserved one, too.

COL (Ret.) Puckett was unfortunately unable to speak at Brennar's graduation due to health issues. So instead, Mrs. Puckett insisted Brennar come meet them in person for a visit. Brennar met with the Puckett's and immediately hit it off. They spent hours talking about life, Brennar's commissioning through Officer Candidate School (OCS), and COL (Ret.) Puckett's time in and out of uniform. The Puckett’s took Brennar under their wing like family. They introduced him to their son, Thomas, and after a while, they recommended he meet their granddaughter, Ms. Martha Lane.

Jeannie insisted that they meet-not because of their military connection, but because both Martha Lane and Brennar are unique leaders with lives and passions extending beyond their military service. She knew they shared similar affinities and possessed similar depths in character.

Jeannie or better known as "Nee Nee" to the Puckett clan, called Martha Lane several times to tell her about this amazing man that she absolutely "had to meet." Martha Lane, living in El Paso at the time and about to head out on a 9 month European deployment, insisted that now was not the time to start a relationship with someone who lived so far away in Florida. Luckily, distance did not deter Brennar.

Brennar reached out to Martha Lane over social media and they began their friendship. While deployed, Martha Lane was offered a new position in Savannah once she returned from Europe. With a newfound closeness, Martha Lane opened herself up to beginning a relationship. With hope for the future, Martha Lane and Brennar began to talk and FaceTime over the phone every day. As they became closer, they planned their first date - a Luke Combs concert in Jacksonville once she got back stateside.

Unfortunately, the passing of COL (Ret.) Puckett, or "Big Daddy," rushed Martha Lane to go home to Columbus, GA. During this time, Brennar was at a dance competition not far away in Alabama. Instead of a planned flight home, Brennar rented a car and drove home from the event-stopping in Columbus to be there for and meet for the first time, Martha Lane. On April 14th, 2024, they went on their first date. It was love at first sight. From that moment on, the two were inseparable, and on September 3rd, 2024, the two got engaged on Utah Beach, Normandy, France.

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We look forward to adding more chapters to our story as we begin our lives together. We are so excited to celebrate with everyone, our friends and our family, and share the town where our story began…

To be continued…