Jack Brennan
John Vincent Brennan (August 16, 1937 – October 20, 2023) was a United States Marine Corps officer and political aide.[1] He is best known as being President Richard Nixon's post-resignation chief of staff.
For other people named Jack Brennan, see Jack Brennan (disambiguation).
Jack Brennan
John Vincent Brennan
"Jack"
August 16, 1937
Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.
October 20, 2023 (aged 86)
United States
1956–1975
Early life and education[edit]
Brennan was born on August 16, 1937, in Fall River, Massachusetts,[1] and attended Providence College, a Catholic college in Providence, Rhode Island, where he graduated in 1959.[2] He served with the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, where he earned a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal at the Battle of Khe Sanh.[3]
Career[edit]
Marine Corps Aide to the President[edit]
In 1969, then-Major Brennan was appointed a Marine Corps Aide to President Nixon; during that time he rose to Colonel.[3] During his time as Marine Corps Aide, Brennan accompanied Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972, which opened up the country to the United States; he was the first Marine to set foot in the People's Republic of China, and he met Mao Zedong.[2][3] He made a positive impression on Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, who described Brennan as having "machismo."[3] In addition, he met Pope Paul VI; he later said that, as a Catholic, it was a special honor for him.[3] Brennan remained attached to Nixon during his resignation after the Watergate scandal in 1974; he was aboard the helicopter and airplane that flew the Nixon family back to their home state of California.[2]
Nixon's Chief of Staff[edit]
When Nixon returned to La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California, nicknamed "The Western White House" during his administration, Brennan left the Marines and served as the ex-president's chief of staff.[2] He originally refused the position after some of Nixon's associates made it sound like a business proposal; the financial aspect was not of interest to Brennan. However, after repeated requests from Nixon, Brennan agreed to leave his career of over 16 years and join the former president's staff. In the role of chief of staff, Brennan managed the small staff, appointments, mail and budgets, and was the liaison to the General Services Administration and members of the United States Congress who wanted information for any ongoing investigations from the former President's Administration. Due to the circumstances of Nixon's departure, he did not receive the level of information and courtesy offered to previous former presidents. During this period he was also Nixon's golfing partner and confidant.[3]
During his time with the Nixons, Brennan helped the family with two major health crises: Richard Nixon suffered from a dangerous case of phlebitis in 1974, and former First Lady Pat Nixon suffered a stroke in 1976. Both recovered.[3][4] When Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein released their 1976 book, The Final Days, Brennan felt that it did not correspond with his own time with the former President, but he stated "as a fictitious novel, it reads well."[3]
Personal life and death[edit]
Brennan resided in Palm Springs, California, and spent summers in Little Compton, Rhode Island. He was a booster for the Providence College Friars and donated his papers from his work for Nixon to the school's archives. At his request, a Friars basketball jersey was placed in his office set in the film Frost/Nixon, but it was not visible in the film.[2]
Brennan died on October 20, 2023, at the age of 86.[7]