CW3 (Retired) Norman Brantley
Help us celebrate CW3 (Retired) Norman! Please share your stories and photos, and invite others who remember CW3 (Retired) Norman.
Funeral Services for Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Retired) Norman Brantley, age 92, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel with Brother Paul Rohde officiating.
Burial with full military honors will follow at Post Cemetery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma
The family will greet friends from 5:30 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at the funeral home.
The service may be viewed by following the live stream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page.
CW3 (Retired) Norman Brantley was born February 4, 1930, in Zolfo Springs, Florida, the 3rd of 4 children born to Edison and Bertha (Nix) Brantley. He passed away in Yuma, Arizona on May 4, 2022. He was preceded in death by his wife Tomoko, his parents, his three siblings Harris, Haynes, and Dutchy, and his daughter-in-law Vicki Brantley. His legacy lives on through his 5 children: LTC (Ret) Charles Kazuo Brantley, Orlando, FL, Carolyn Miyako (Gene) Creel, Plant City, FL; Norman Nobuo Brantley, Lawton, OK; LTC (Ret) Charlotte Michiko (Alan) Stevenson, Lawton, OK; Vivian Tomoko Brantley-Stokes, Yuma, AZ; his 9 grand-children and 20 great-grandchildren. He was a former member and Deacon of Westwood Baptist Church, Lawton, OK, and later a member of Strong Nation Church, Yuma, AZ.
He graduated from Hardee County High School. He joined the United States Army on January 2, 1949, attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic School) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Norman's first duty assignment was Car Co Motor Bn in the center of Tokyo, Gen. MacArthur's HQs (GHQ). He was there for 4 years as a Mechanic, Squad leader, and Gen's Relief Driver. He was going to get out but decided to re-enlist, hoping for Harborcraft School and return to Japan. No luck-they sent him to 3582nd Trans. Truck Co. He asked for Language School and they put him in the Korean branch. He was then assigned as a Korean Interrogator with the 528th MI Co. in Uijong-bu, then to the G2 section at I Corps HQ. In 1955, he was assigned to the Yokohama Engineer Depot in Japan. He returned to Ft. Sill to become a Corporal Missile Fire Control Maintenance Officer, followed by an assignment to Ft. Bliss to Corporal Missile Fire/Testing and Training. A year later he was sent to Babenhausen, Germany with 1st Bn, 38th Arty, 36th FA Gp where he landed a dream job working for the Darmstadt Post Commander managing the Babenhausen Rod and Gun Club and 4 other Rod and Gun Clubs. He again went to Sill and transitioned to the Pershing Missile System (maint). Around this time he was promoted to warrant officer. In 1968, he was transferred to Schwabisch Gmuend, Germany and was assigned to 4th Bn, 41st Arty. He was moved up to 56th Arty GP and assigned to PERFECT TEAM which evaluated all Pershing Bns in the group. On his return stateside he was assigned to 5th Missile Training Bn until retirement. He retired 1 August 1976 at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3 after over 27 years of service.
His awards and decorations included the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal with Fourth Award, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Korean Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal. He fired Expert with the 0.45 Caliber Pistol.
Norman met Tomoko Asano during his first duty assignment. After a hassle with the Army and with his dad (his own words), they were married 8 Feb 51. They participated in both American and Japanese traditional wedding ceremonies. He loved his Japanese family and remained close with all of them until he passed. He encouraged his children and his childrens' children to take pride in their Japanese heritage. He traveled to Japan as often as he could.
After retirement from the Army, Norman went to work at Gibson's Discount Center in the Sporting Goods Section. Not long after, he became one of Goodyear's initial hires at the new Lawton plant. He was first hired as a maint tech; he had progressed to Zone Manager when he retired from Goodyear. He enjoyed having his son Norman just a speeding golf cart's distance away. He was fondly referred to as "Stormin' Norman" at Goodyear.
Norman enjoyed going and doing. His first trip after retirement from Goodyear was to visit his middle daughter in Hawaii. He bought a 29ft Class A motorhome and fearlessly made multiple solo cross-country trips to FL to see Carolyn & Charles (& families), to OK to visit Norman & Charlotte (& families), then to AZ to visit Vivian (& family). In 1995, he started spending summers in OK and wintering in AZ. Then, in 2016, he stayed in AZ year-round. He had many hobbies and interests. He loved old cars, tractors, and old tools. He enjoyed riding his Harley Davidsons in good weather. He made 2 tandem sky-dives in his sixties. He took up rock-hounding in the desert with his Willy Jeep. He became an accomplished woodcarver in early 2000 and produced progressively more complex carvings over the years. He also crafted beautiful writing pens using different types of wood. He loved making things grow and enjoyed gardening and splicing branches onto his persimmon trees. Norman was especially fond of all animals and considered somewhat of a "whisperer".
Norman taught his kids at a very young age the importance of spending time together as a family, and to enjoy but respect nature and the outdoors. He taught his kids how to hunt and fish. He and Tomoko proudly supported their children. The family spent many weekends at Fort Cobb camping, fishing, water-skiing, swimming, running jug-lines, and even frog-gigging. These trips were not over until the boat was washed and waxed, gear cleaned and properly stowed, and camping supplies restocked. Later, Norman and Tomoko attended countless baseball, softball, football, and basketball games, and Junior ROTC and ROTC Drill meets. The cycle continued with the grandkids and great-grand-kids.
We are honored to know that he enriched the lives of many, earning their love, respect, and admiration, serving as an example of how to live a life that brings glory to God. Though we mourn our loss, we believe that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
An online guest book and sympathy cards are available at www.beckerfuneral.com