A resident of Granbury, Brian is a 1984 graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Upon graduating as the Distinguished Military Graduate through the Army ROTC program, he was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer and began his service in the United States Army at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Brian served in numerous locations around the world, including South Korea and Germany, and from coast to coast in the United States. His assignments included numerous training deployments and two operational deployments. In 1990, he deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm during the first Gulf War (Desert Storm), and he was awarded the Bronze Star for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement. In 1998 he deployed to Central America as the J3 (Joint Operations Officer) for JTF Aguila to conduct humanitarian operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. At the time of the Pentagon attack, Brian served on the Department of the Army staff as the military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management.
On September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed just yards away from his second floor Pentagon office, Brian was thrown to the ground and engulfed in flames. Of the burns that covered 60 percent of his body, nearly half were third degree in severity. On his second day in the hospital, he received a surprise visit from his Commander in Chief, President George W. Bush.
Today, following 39 operations, months of hospitalization and numerous skin grafts, and the undying support of his wife Mel, Brian has made a miraculous recovery. Despite physical limitations, he testifies not only to his physical healing, but also to his spiritual healing-the ultimate miracle of grace through Christ. For his wounds at the Pentagon, he was awarded the Purple Heart, and upon retirement received the Legion of Merit Award. Col. Birdwell was also part of the 2nd Armored Calvary Battle Group which received the Valorous Unit Award for its action at the Battle of the 73 Easting inside Iraq when the lead elements of 7th Corps hit Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. He is a graduate of Command and General Staff College and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
After his retirement from the U.S. Army, Brian and his wife, Mel, launched Face The Fire Ministries, a non-profit organization that supports critical burn survivors and wounded servicemen and women and their families. Together, Brian and Mel authored "Refined by Fire: A Family's Triumph of Love and Faith," which chronicles their life-changing ordeal. Brian has served as a national speaker for WallBuilders, a pro-family organization that presents America's religious, moral, and constitutional heritage. He has been a guest on Fox News, NBC Today Show, CBS Early Show, CNN News, a panelist on Hannity's Great American Panel and has been profiled in media outlets such as the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and the Los Angeles Times.
A lifelong Republican, Birdwell was a featured speaker at the 2006 Republican State Convention in San Antonio and was Keynote Speaker for the 2007 Texas State Presidential Straw Poll in Ft. Worth. He was a 2008 delegate to the RPT State Convention in Houston and is Immediate Past Vice President of the Hood County Republican Club. In announcing his candidacy for state senate, Birdwell said, "Texas faces great challenges in the next session on issues ranging from the budget, standing up to an overreaching and out of control federal government, and preserving the conservative values which have made Texas the envy of the nation. Citizens can count on me to be a conservative champion on these issues." Brian and Mel have been married for 22 years and they have one son, Matt, who is a junior at Texas Tech. They attend Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury.
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