Brian D. Slavenas was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on December 19, 1972, and graduated from DeKalb High School in 1991. Brian had a well-rounded set of skills and interests. He was a runner in middle school, threw discus in high school, and won a weight-lifting contest in college. In 1996 he was security for the torch at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brian was a classical pianist, starting lessons at age sixteen. While getting his degree in industrial engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), he gained acceptance into the Music School as a classical pianist. At UIUC, he obtained a pilot's license, a flight instructor's license, a commercial aircraft license, and taught flight. Brian graduated in December 2002 and was called to active duty shortly after. 

Brian was a member of Company F. First Battalion, 106th Aviation Illinois National Guard in Peoria. His passion for flying carried over into the National Guard, where he became a licensed Huey and Chinook helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army Aviation Division. On November 2, 2003, Brian was killed near Al Fallujah, Iraq, when a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile shot down the Chinook 47 helicopter he was flying. The flight engineer said Brian's last words were, "automatic rotate," which put the aircraft into emergency mode. Of the 36 people on board the helicopter, 20 survived thanks to Brian's quick thinking. 

A Fund was established in 2015 to honor the memory of Brian Slavenas. The Brian D. Slavenas Memorial Endowment Fund resides at the DeKalb County Community Foundation and supports the charitable interests of First Lt. Brian D. Slavenas. His legacy of love, support, and dedication lives on.