Sergeant First Class Brainard was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 4 June 1951 and died of those wounds the following day.

Brainard was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.