Robert Irwin Brown

Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment

4th Infantry Division

Age: 20
Date of Birth: 11/4/1947
From: New York, New York
Marital Status: Married

Corporal, E-4, Selective Service
Pay Grade at Loss – E-3. Posthumous promotion

Military Occupation Specialty: 11B – Infantryman
Enlistment Date – 12/12/1967
Length of Service – Less than one year (246 days)

His tour began on March 29, 1968
Casualty was on August 14, 1968 (138 days in Vietnam)
Casualty Code – A1-H-7
Ground Casualty
Hostile – Died outright, Multiple fragmentation wounds
Place of casualty – Kontum Province, Dak To District
Approximately seven kilometers southwest of Ben Het.

Robert Irwin Brown was killed in action on August 14th, 1968 when the defensive position his unit was occupying was hit by a massive barrage of North Vietnamese Army recoilless rifle and mortar fire. Two platoons and the command element of Alpha Company, 3-12 Infantry had occupied a position southwest of Firebase 29 midafternoon on the 14th. At approximately 6:15 PM, the small American perimeter began receiving incoming fire from the southwest. The roughly 50 men, unable to dig deep foxholes with overhead cover, were caught exposed.

As Robert Brown was attempting to move himself and wounded comrades to a position offering greater cover, he was struck in the head and chest by fragments from an exploding round and killed. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for Heroism. By the time the barrage was over, 14 men were killed in action and at least eight more wounded.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Panel 48W Line 10

CPL Robert I Brown’s decorations.

Top row (Badges) – Combat Infantry Badge
Middle row – left to right (Individual Awards) – Bronze Star w/Valor device, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Bottom row (Unit Awards) – Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation

Biography

Robert I Brown was born on November 4th, 1947 in New York City. He was the one of at least seven children of Moses F and Lucilla S Brown. In 1950, the Brown’s lived on the first floor of a three story brick rowhouse on Wyona Street in Brooklyn. Moses earned a living as a longshoreman, and Lucilla worked as a secretary for the Boy Scouts of America. Robert, just two years old when the 1950 census was taken, shared a home with his parents and six of his siblings. Nina (19), Ruth (15), Ethel (13), Shirley (10), Thelma (8) and Moses Jr (3).

Robert Brown was married to Mrs. Mary Y. Brown, also of Brooklyn.

Services

Robert Irwin Brown was laid to rest on August 30th, 1968 in Section X, site 2406 at the Long Island National Cemetery.

Additional information

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Wall of Faces – https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/6220/ROBERT-I-BROWN/