The South Dakota Veterans Council named Donald Bren the Veteran of the Year last month during the “Salute to Veterans” event at the South Dakota State Fair.
The South Dakota Veterans Council named Donald Bren the Veteran of the Year last month during the “Salute to Veterans” event at the South Dakota State Fair.

In Brookings, S.D., Donald Bren is known simply as “Mr. DAV.”

Bren, who hails from White, S.D., joined the Air Force in 1951 and served in Korea before exiting the military in 1959. He has been advocating for fellow veterans ever since.

Last month the South Dakota Veterans Council awarded its Veteran of the Year Award to the 43-year DAV life member during a “Salute to Veterans” ceremony at the South Dakota State Fair.

Bren joined DAV in 1973, was a founding member and the first commander of Chapter 22 in Brookings, S.D. He implemented their DAV Transportation Network in 1989 and as a volunteer driver has covered 15,000 miles and dedicated 2,500 hours driving veterans to and from the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Bren. “Veterans helping veterans.”

“This guy is honest and hard working,” said Past National Commander Gene Murphy, who currently serves as the adjutant for the Department of South Dakota. “He is a friendly and ordinary man who you’d want as your grandfather, but he is a fierce advocate for veterans who always does the right thing.”

Murphy, a veteran of the Vietnam War and fellow White, S.D. native, was on hand at the ceremony to present the award to Bren.

“It was an honor to have Gene there and present the award to me,” said Bren. “I watched his family grow up and he is somebody everyone looks up to and I know I certainly do.”

Bren served as commander of Chapter 22 in Brookings from 1981 to 1988 and has served two terms as commander of the Department of South Dakota from 1990-1991 and 1998-1999, all the while leveraging his experience to help younger veterans.

“The thing is that we have so many veterans coming back and we need to reach out to them,” said Bren. “I try and do that. When I served some of us had a terrible time with this. We had the feeling that we had no place to go, but if you reach out to a veteran, we will show you there is a place to go,” Bren added. “They just need guidance and it is our responsibility to reach out. We help each other. We know what it is like to be hospitalized, and work with it and not against it.”

“Having leaders like Mr. Bren with his experience and guidance on the ground-level is what makes DAV go,” said National Membership Director, Doug Wells. “His passion and continued involvement has not only helped numerous veterans in the South Dakota region, but he was also instrumental in carving out a foothold for DAV in the state and there is no telling how many lives that impacted.”

Bren has also lent his talents to fundraising for DAV in South Dakota by launching their annual Poker Run 12 years ago. The event has raised over $100,000 since it began.

“I spend all of my time with DAV,” said Bren. “I think DAV takes care of each other and veterans.”