Harold Milton Brown
Staff Sergeant Harold Milton Brown, 26, Mt. Washington, Bullitt County, Kentucky, was killed on 11 June 1969 by rocket fire while in a bunker in Chu Lai, Vietnam while serving on federal active duty. Brown was serving with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 82nd Artillery, Americal Division at the time of his death.
Brown enlisted in the Kentucky Army National Guard’s, Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery in April 1964 and at the time of his enlistment he reported his occupation as laborer at International Harvester in Louisville. He had attended Mount Washington High School and was a member of Kings Baptist Church. He attended field artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from August 1964 to January 1965 and entered federal active duty with his unit in May 1968 as a Sergeant.
Brown was one of seventy-seven members of the battalion that were ”infused” in March of 1969 with the Americal Division at Chu Lai. The Army’s Infusion program was established to avoid a heavy reduction in personnel in one unit when the time came for the men to go home. Infusion provided for a slow, steady turnover of personnel. Additionally, in the case of the National Guard, the program helped avoid a heavy loss in one unit from one community in the event the unit was overrun.
Staff Sergeant Brown's name appears on Panel 22W, Line 17, on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. He is buried in the Kings Church Cemetery in Mount Washington.
The other soldier with him immediately sought help from the next tent and his fellow soldiers and the battery executive officer were at his side rendering aid almost immediately and the battalion surgeon was at his side within minutes. Efforts to resuscitate him in the field and at Ireland Army Hospital were not successful.
Brown joined the Kentucky Army National Guard in June 1968 less than a month before his eighteenth birthday. At the time of his enlistment he reported his occupation as farmer and later as a surveyor with the state highway department. Brown was a graduate of Wayne County High School and was married. He attended basic training at Fort Campbell and advanced training at Fort Sill. He was promoted to Private First Class in June 1969. He was attending only his second Annual Training with the unit. He is buried at Taylors Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Wayne County. A marker in his honor is located near the flag pole at the Monticello Armory.
