HERE RESTS IN
HONORED GLORY
AN AMERICAN
SOLDIER
KNOWN BUT TO GOD
~ Inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
It saddens me to see how many of our military men and women perish with little or no media notice of their passing, even by their hometown news organizations. Except for their names, they are "unknown soldiers" to most of us.
The man we honor today, Spc. Micheal Brown, is such an "unknown soldier"; sadly, I was unable to find much information about him. Yet however much or little information we can find about our fallen military people, we know something critical about them: they willingly offered their lives for their country. And for their service, their devotion, and their sacrifices—and for those of their families and friends—we honor them. Unknown, perhaps...but never forgotten.
Spc. Micheal D. Brown, 20, of Williamsburg, Kan. died Oct. 16 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, of a non-combat related illness after being transported from Tikrit, Iraq on Oct. 15. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. (DoD report)
Micheal Brown was an Army aviation operations specialist. 49abcnews reports that he joined the Army in February, 2005, and, though he was only 20 years old, he was on his second deployment to Iraq when he died.
A friend of Micheal's wrote this tribute:
Micheal I miss you. You have been taken way to early. My brothers and sisters will be there to stand the flag line for me, to give you the honor and tribute you so richly deserve. I have enjoyed knowing you and being part of your life, in good days and bad, for the last two years, being your angel, and friend. You are like a son to me.
To the family and friends of Micheal my sincere condolences. He was a special man, and if you are his friend he would always be there for you.
Thank you for your service Micheal to our country, you will always be my Hero, I love you, rest in peace , Sherry
Micheal's family asked Sherry to post this message:
"Thank you all for your kind words of support and sympathy for our family. I want to thank each one of you for showing your true colors of our nation to support our troops and our troops families. All of them that have been so blessed by having a fellow solider to call their own hero and/or brother, sister, mother, father, grandparent, uncle, aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, or just a dear friend. SPC Brown was a great man that loved the military and loved what he did no matter the sacrifice. It's what he wanted and what he lived for to be there with his buddies fighting for what he believed in. I just received a letter from him that he had mailed on Oct. 9th and I received on Oct. 18th two days after he had fallen. It was a very hard moment for me to read the last letter that I would receive from him. His sense of humor he showed through this letter telling me exactly these words, "It's like I'm on a permanent vacation on a huge beach with no water. And people that really love me by trying to kill me by an IED, mortar, or viper strike. (and he had a smiley face drawn. :-) This what I love and what I do." Although he did not pass by one of these more violent means of war, he was doing what he loved and what he believed in. I look forward to seeing each and everyone of you that are able to attend his events in the last moments of his travels. Once again I thank you on behalf of our fallen soldier and my family! May God Bless You All!" Edna
Micheal will be laid to rest on October 27. The wonderful Patriot Guard Riders will be present to honor him.
Rest in peace, Micheal Brown. May your brave spirit be free and find peace and contentment forever.
As of this writing, Iraq Coalition Casualties reports that 3830 American soldiers, sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardsmen have been confirmed killed in action in Iraq, and 449 have died in Afghanistan. The DoD news releases can be found here.
You can help our military men and women. Please consider sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. It doesn’t take much time or money. Just send letters or care packages to your soldier, sailor, Airman, or Marine. One of my "adopted" soldiers told me that "mail is gold" for a deployed soldier. A few minutes of your time and one airmail stamp can make a real difference in a military person's life. anysoldier.com, Operation Helmet, and Fisher House are also wonderful organizations that provide comfort and care to deployed American troops.
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, Sandy on Signal, silvercedes, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, Wee Mama, MsWings, labwitchy, moneysmith, joyful, roses, and sistwo.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and families of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.