Famous Overseas Alumni and Military BRATs

JIM MARSHALL (1948-   )

U.S. CONGRESSMAN

Congressman Jim Marshall (D) represents the 8th District of Georgia. He was first elected in 2002. An Army Brat, Marshall is the son and grandson of Army Generals. He is a member of the Army Ranger Hall of Fame. His formative years were spent moving from one post to another.

JIM MORRISON (1942-1971)

SINGER, SONGWRITER, POET

Jim Morrison’s father was one of the youngest admirals in the U.S. Navy. In 1961, he graduated from George Washington HS in Alexandria , VA where he was an honor roll student. It is not known if he attended school overseas.

Morrison was the founder and lead singer of the popular group, The Doors.

JIM NELSON (1975-   )

NFL LINEBACKER

Jim Nelson, Minnesota Vikings linebacker, is Air Force Brat. He attended 3 high schools in 4 years, including Lakenheath ( England ) High School. His father, Col. James Nelson, was a commander of the Office of Special Investigations which took the family to bases in England , Florida , Maryland and others.

JIM WEBB (1947- )

SENATOR (D-Virginia)

Senator James “Jim” Webb is an Air Force and Overseas Brat.

Webb’s father was a career Air Force officer who flew B-17s and B-29s during World War II and was later involved in the USAF missile program. His father is buried at Arlington National Cemetery . (more…)

JOE PITTS (1939- )

REPRESENTATIVE (R-PA)

Representative Pitts is an Overseas Brat. Pitts was born in Kentucky in a family of strong Christian faith.. His father was an Army chaplain during World War II, serving in the South Pacific. After the war, the elder Pitts returned to the Philippines with his wife and children to serve as a missionary in a war-ravaged country. It was there, where he saw the after-affects of war, that Joe Pitts developed a heart for human rights and commitment to a strong defense. General Douglas MacArthur, a warrior who humbled an empire and taught it to be a democracy, was a childhood hero. (more…)

JOE REEDER

UNDER SECRETARY OF THE ARMY

Secretary Reeder was a military and an Overseas School Alumnus.

He attended Frankfurt American High School 1963-64.  He was in the FAHS Class of 1966.
Info from an 18 May 1995 letter from Secretary Reeder.

JOHN DENVER (1943-1997)

SINGER-SONGWRITER, ACTOR, HUMANITARIAN, ENVIRONMENTALIST

Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. on December 31, 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico, John Denver was an Air Force brat and an overseas school alumnus. His father, Lt Col John “Dutch” Deutschendorf, was a US Air Force pilot who set three international speed records in the B-58 Hustler in 1961.

Denver attended Yokota Elementary School at the Yokota housing annex of Johnson AB from kindergarten through 2nd grade. He graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth Texas in 1961 while his father was stationed at Carswell AFB. (more…)

JOHN N. ABRAMS

Gen. John N. Abrams is the son of Gen. Creighton Abrams, after whom the Abrams tank was named.  John attended school in Frankfurt, Germany, while his father was stationed in Frankfurt from 1959 until 1962.

JOHN S. MCCAIN, III (1936-2018)

U.S. SENATOR

John McCain was born in Panama . Both his father and grandfather were Navy admirals. His father was commander of U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific when the senator was shot down in Vietnam and became a POW (1967-1973).

In his biography, McCain, a self-described military brat, said that “the longest place he ever lived was at the prison camp in Hanoi .”

The decorated war hero retired from the Navy in 1981. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982.  In 1986, he was elected to the Senate after Arizona ’s Barry Goldwater retired. In 2000, 2004, & 2008, McCain ran in the Republican primaries for President.

JOHN SCHWAB

ACTOR AND PRODUCER

John Schwab attended Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan, and a DOD high school in Seoul, South Korea. John’s father served in the United States Marine Corps.

JULIA CAMPBELL

FILM & TELEVISION ACTRESS

Julia Campbell is an Army Brat and an Overseas Brat. She is the daughter of a US Army Officer as per PARADE MAGAZINE 3-5-95. She lived in Turkey during her junior high years.

Movies: “Opportunity Knocks” and “Livin’ Large”; Formerly on Soaps: “Ryan’s Hope”, “Santa Barbara” and other TV movies.

JULIANNE MOORE (1961-  )

ACTRESS

Julianne Moore (born Julie Anne Smith) is the daughter of a career Army Lawyer/Judge and social worker wife. Born in Fort Bragg , NC , Moore moved around to dozens of military communities. She attended and graduated from Frankfurt High School with the class of 1979.

Moore ’s first significant role came as Annabelle Sciorra’s best friend in the thriller, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” Much more impressive was her revealing role as a spirited artist in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts.”

She has been nominated for four Oscars: Supporting Actress in “Boogie Nights,” Best Actress in “End of the Affair,” Best Actress in “Far From Heaven” and Best Supporting Actress in “The Hours.”

KATHIE LEE GIFFORD

TV PERSONALITY/SINGER

Kathie Lee is a Navy Junior. She is the daughter of a US Naval Officer.  She was born: Kathie Lee Epstein, in Paris, France.

She is best known as the co-host of  “Live with Regis and Kathie.

Source: U.S.A. Today/U.S. Weekender/Feb. 3, 1996

 

KATHLEEN TURNER (1954-    ) 

ACTRESS

Kathleen Turner’s father was an American diplomat.  She was a member of the Class of 1972 at the American School of London. Known primarily for her roles in movies, she has also appeared on television.

Turner has won two Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for an Oscar.

KATRINA LESKANISCH

LEAD SINGER KATRINA & THE WAVES

Grammy Nominee Katrina Leskanich attended Stuttgart AHS prior to graduating from Lakenheath High School where she graduated in 1978.


KELLYE CASH

MISS AMERICA 1987

Kelley’s father, Capt. Roy Cash, Jr., USN (Ret), is a nephew of singer/songwriter Johnny Cash.

KEN KASHIWAHARA

ABC TV NEWS REPORTER

Ken Kashiwahara is an Overseas School Alumnus. He attended Kubasaki High through the 8th Grade, then moved to Chevy Chase, MD, where he graduated from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School.


KENDALL BAKER

PRESIDENT OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY

Kendall Baker is an Overseas School Alumnus.  He attended Munich  American High School.

Baker is currently the President of Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

KENT CONRAD (1948- )

SENATOR (D-North Dakota)

Kent Conrad is an Overseas Brat. He attended Wheelus American High School at Wheelus AFB in Libya as a civilian student for several years as a member of the WAHS Class of 1966.

KEVIN MAWAE (1971- )

NFL Player & Coach

Kevin Mawae’s father, Sgt. 1st Class David Mawae, spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, serving 2 tours in Vietnam, 1 tour in Korea, and 2 tours in Germany. Kevin was born in Georgia and spent his childhood in Fort Riley, Kansas, and Hanau, Germany, before moving back to the U.S. to live near Leesville, Louisiana.

It was in Hanau that Kevin began playing football and was later an all-state football selection from Leesville High School where he attended. After college, Kevin went on to play for the NFL for sixteen seasons. He played for the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and spent most of his NFL years with the New York Jets. Kevin Mawae has served as an assistant offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears and now is a member of the Arizona State University coaching staff. In 2019, was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

KEVIN MOHS

ENTERTAINMENT EXECUTIVE, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Kevin Mohs is 3-time Emmy-nominated executive producer and is the VP of Development & Production at National Geographic. He attended Munich American High School.

KHALID ROBINSON (1998-)

Khalid Donnel Robinson (born February 11, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter. He signed with Right Hand Music Group and RCA Records. His debut single, “Location“, was released in July 2016 and peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was later certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since then he has achieved several top 10 hits, a number one album and five Grammy He spent his childhood in various locations including Fort Campbell in KentuckyFort Drum in Watertown, New York, and six years in Heidelberg, Germany because of his mother Linda Wolfe’s, and his father’s, career in the military. During his junior year of high school, the family moved to El Paso, Texas and attended Americas High School.

KIMBERLY MCKAY

AUTHOR, SCREENWRITER, DIRECTOR, PODCAST HOST

Kimberly McKay graduated from Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan. Her dad was in the United States Marine Corps.

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

SINGER, SONGWRITER, ACTOR

Kris Kristofferson is an Air Force Brat.  His father was an USAF Major General.  This was recently confirmed by the Air Force History Support Office Library: Vicky Crone, Librarian, Air Force History Support Office.  Library vicky.crone@pentagon.af.mil

He  graduated in 1954 from San Mateo HS in San Mateo, California.  It is unknown if he attended any schools overseas.

He has often mentioned being a military brat and it is mentioned on the liner notes of one of his albums that  he was: “born into a military family in Brownsville, Texas, in 1936.”

(more…)

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