Over 50 years ago, Brown joined the army at 19 years of age unaware of what the controversy concerning the war was all about. He decided that in order to figure out his own feelings about the war, he should join and serve in the front lines of duty to gain experience. Brown amusingly shared that when he came home from war, he was just as confused as he was going in, due to controversy.
On June 19th, 1970 Brown lead his platoon of 19 men, all between the ages of 18-19 years of age, up a hillside to a North Vietnam Army company with 10x their numbers. “We ran into what we thought was another platoon, however we realized we were outnumbered,” said Brown. As the radio telephone operator, Brown quickly and sufficiently sent calls to the fire base and ordered for assistance from air support to fly in and give their platoon support. Then as rifleman, Brown stepped in to suppress fire in order to protect his unit and pin down the Vietnam enemy.
This intense battle started at 9 am, lasting throughout the night until noon the next day, his platoon fought for survival. Brown mentioned the battle was so intense that their machine gun barrels had melted down. Men from other platoons stepped in for assistance and unfortunately, some got shot. When fire had ceased, they counted 29 Vietnam soldiers dead, but not a single man from Brown’s platoon had fallen.
“It was that very night, reflecting while trying to sleep on the ground. I was thinking about how far away I was from home,” said Brown. That night as he prayed, Brown made a commitment to God that if he were to make it out of the war safely and return home, he would change his life around and become the best person he could be. “Difficult times in our lives truly can change us, and it did changed me. I like to think of myself as a large ship on the ocean. When it decides to turn around and change course, it’s not an immediate thing. Things are put into place and it takes awhile to turn around.”
“That’s a lot like my life,” said Brown. “It took me a year or two, to change my life around and try to become the person that I wanted to be.” Brown gives thanks to his Heavenly Father for preserving his life and giving him the opportunity to have a family, friends, and the enjoy the experiences of life.
Not only did Brown embody values of bravery, teamwork, and a sense of duty that day in 1970, but has exemplified those core values with him on a daily basis as he has generously volunteers his time in sharing his experience with students, reaching out to his combat buddies on an individual basis, and also planning and hosting reunions at his home.
“I can see very clearly how all these experiences have been cathartic for him,” shared his son, Clayton Brown. “He has turned what could have been a bitter or caustic experience into an opportunity for uplifting and serving others.”
Brown mentioned that although it would have been nice to receive the citation 51 years ago, it is more sweet receiving this medal today, surrounded by the support and love of his family, and to be apart of this special occasion.
