Frederic J. Brown II (July 9, 1905 – March 13, 1971) was a career officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. A veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was most notable for serving in senior command assignments, including the 3rd Armored Division,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe The Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST), is the standing Staff (military), headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander of LANDCOM is the primary Gr ...

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a Theater Army (United States), theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in ...

, and the Army Logistics Systems Study Group. Brown attained the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and was a recipient of two awards of the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

, two awards of the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, two awards of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

, and the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

Early life

Frederic Joseph Brown was born in

Britton, South Dakota Britton is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,215 at the 2020 census. A weekly newspaper, the ''Britton Journal,'' is published in Britton. History Britton was founded in 1884 as ...

, on July 9, 1905, the son of Frederic Jacob Brown (1870–1954) and Adah Eunice (James) Brown (1874–1963). He attended the schools of Britton, and graduated from Britton High School in 1923. Brown received an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

(West Point) from U.S. Representative

Royal C. Johnson Royal Cleaves Johnson (October 3, 1882 – August 2, 1939) was a U.S. Representative from South Dakota and a highly decorated veteran of World War I while he was still a member of Congress. Despite voting against United States declaration of war ...

. He graduated in 1927 and received his commission as a second lieutenant of

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

Early career

After receiving his commission, Brown was assigned to the

6th Field Artillery Regiment The 6th Field Artillery Regiment is a Field Artillery Branch (United States), Field Artillery Branch regiment of the United States Army first activated in 1907 from numbered companies of artillery. It was first organized with two battalions. ...

, which he joined just as it was completing the transition from horse-drawn to mechanized. In 1928, Brown married Mary Kathryn Richardson, a high school classmate. They were the parents of a son, Frederic J. Brown III. Brown completed the Field Artillery Battery Officer Course in 1933 and the Advanced Motorized Artillery Course in 1935. He was a member of the West Point faculty from 1936 to 1941, and was assigned to teach physics.

Continued career

At the start of

, Brown was assigned to command the 54th Armored Artillery Battalion, a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division. In September 1942 he was assigned to command the 3rd Infantry Division Artillery, which he led throughout combat in France and Germany. Battles in which he participated included the Battle of Mortain,

Battle of Falaise The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, cons ...

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

Battle of Remagen The Battle of Remagen was an 18-day battle during the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II. It lasted from the 7th to the 25th of March 1945 when American forces unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine intact. They wer ...

, Ruhr pocket, and the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

. After Germany's surrender, Brown participated in the

Occupation of Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sove ...

. Brown attended the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

from 1946 to 1947. After graduating, he remained at the school as a member of the faculty. From 1950 to 1953, he was assigned to

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

(EUCOM) as assistant chief of staff for operations and training (G-3). He was promoted to brigadier general in 1952, and remained at EUCOM as deputy chief of staff for operations. In 1955, he returned to the United States and carried out several staff assignments in the office of the army's deputy chief of staff for logistics (G-4). In 1958, he was assigned as EUCOM's chief of staff as a major general.

Later career

From July 1959 to October 1960, Brown commanded 3rd Armored Division, then headquartered in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. As a

, he commanded

from October 1960 to August 1961, which was also headquartered in Frankfurt. From September 1961 to July 1963, he commanded

, headquartered in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. From August 1963 to July 1965, Brown commanded

, then headquartered at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

. Brown retired in 1965, but was immediately recalled to active duty to serve as president of the Army Logistics Systems Study Group (the Brown Board), which studied and made recommendations for improving the army's processes for procuring and distributing supplies and equipment. From 1965 to 1966, he served as president of the United States Armor Association. He retired for the second time in May 1967. Brown's awards and decorations included the

with

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

with oak leaf cluster,

, and

. In addition to his U.S. awards, Brown was the recipient of several foreign decorations for his World War II service, including the French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

(Chevalier) and

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with palm. In addition, he received the Belgian

with palm,

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

(Officer), and

Fourragère The ''fourragère'' (, from , "fodder") is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, ...

. In retirement, Brown resided in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...

. He died at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 1971. Brown was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

External links

Frederic J. Brown II
at Arlington National Cemetery {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Frederic J. II 1905 births 1971 deaths People from Britton, South Dakota Military personnel from McLean, Virginia United States Military Academy alumni National War College alumni United States Military Academy faculty National War College faculty United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Medal Knights of the Legion of Honour American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) American recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Officers of the Order of Leopold II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery