Voices of our Veterans: Ken Brasfield

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ)-

Ken Brasfield was drafted in 1966 in the middle of the Vietnam war. He wanted to use his engineering degree to serve. After basic training, he was promoted to lieutenant and shipped off to port Hueneme California. Then after a short stay, he was stationed in Washington D.C.

“I was working with admirals and commanders, so I felt somewhat out of place,” says Brasfield.

Brasfield worked on several large projects during his time with the navy. He says,

“I served on a committee to determine where we were going to build the next, which would be the third navy training center. Ended up putting it just north of Orlando…I ended up overseeing the construction of a runway so that the c5a aircraft could land on that airfield and that runway.”

This runway built specially to be able to fit the C5A is still in use today. After four years in the Navy Brasfield embarked on a new voyage.

“I decided to use the training that I had gotten in the navy to start a business, so we started it in 1970 and I’ve been here ever since,” Brasfield says.

Brasfield construction was born. They built the majority of union universities campus including Jennings hall, Hammonds hall, the Bowld student commons, the baseball and soccer fields, most of the dorms, the bell tour and the sidewalks. Brasfield credits the navy for teaching him to rise to any challenges he faces,

“I’m going to do the best that I can and that’s all I can do. That’s the reasoning that I finally came to that maybe I wasn’t qualified to do some of the things but all I knew to do was the best that I knew how and had to leave it at that.”

“Mr.Brasfield thank you so much for your service on behalf of 39 news, myself and all of West Tennessee we just want to give you this certificate to thank you so much for your service and everything you’ve done for our country,” says Alexander Bitterling.

“I appreciate that,” Brasfield says.