Gary William Bruhn was born on August 21, 1949, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter W. Bruhn. The Bruhn family lived on Grand Summit Road and were longtime residents of Torrance.

Described as an “extremely likable young man,” Bruhn graduated from South High School in Torrance in 1967 and attended El Camino College for one year. Before entering the Army, he owned a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda. He and his friends visited the old Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, a well-known local drag racing venue, for the “Run What You Brung” events. Bruhn also worked with a friend at the Lobster House restaurant in King Harbor, Redondo Beach.

Drafted into the Army through the Selective Service, Bruhn enlisted on April 8, 1968, and began his Vietnam tour of duty on May 4, 1969. He served as an Army medic with the rank of Private First Class (PFC) and was assigned to HHC Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division.

Accounts posted on veteran websites state that on October 1, 1969, PFC Bruhn was severely wounded by multiple fragment wounds from an enemy rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) or mortar in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, while his squad was in an ambush position approximately 100 meters from the rest of the company. He died from his injuries on October 24, 1969, at a military hospital in Japan. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.

Funeral services were held at the Green Hills Memorial Park Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, followed by interment with military honors.

PFC Gary W. Bruhn was survived by his parents, two sisters, Loretta and Nancy, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Reid of Atchison, Kansas. In addition to the Torrance Veterans Memorial Wall, he is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Panel 17W, Line 111.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to Gary Bruhn’s high school friend Dale Hoag for the local South Bay memories above.