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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Last WW I Navy Vet Passes |
| 2007-04-02 |
| Lloyd Brown, the last known surviving World War I Navy veteran, has died. He was 105. Brown died Thursday at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County, according to family and the U.S. Naval District in Washington. His death comes days after the death of the last known surviving American female World War I veteran, Charlotte L. Winters, 109. The deaths leave three known survivors who served in the Army, and a fourth who lives in Washington state but served in the Canadian army, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brown was born Oct. 7, 1901, in Lutie, Mo., a small farming town in the Ozarks. His family later moved to Chadwick, Mo. In 1918, 16-year-old Brown lied about his age to join the Navy and was soon on the gun crew on the battleship USS New Hampshire. "All the young men were going in the service. They were making the headlines, the boys that enlisted," Brown told The (Baltimore) Sun in a 2005 interview. "And all the girls liked someone in uniform." Brown finished his tour of duty in 1919, took a break for a couple of years, then re-enlisted. He learned to play the cello at a musicians school in Norfolk, Va., and was assigned to an admiral's 10-piece chamber orchestra aboard the USS Seattle. When Brown ended his military career in 1925, he joined the Washington Fire Department's Engine Company 16, which served the White House and embassies. He had married twice, and had a son and daughter from one marriage and two daughters from the other. Even after reaching 100, Brown remained independent, living alone in his Charlotte Hall bungalow and driving a golf cart around his neighborhood. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #12 hmmm. that math doesn't work. He must have died sooner than that. I guess that explains why I never met him. |
| Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 2007-04-02 16:32 |
| #11 One fought for the north and one fought for the south. Glad they didn't kill each other :-) |
| Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 2007-04-02 16:28 |
| #10 meant great-great. I think he lived into the 70's. |
| Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 2007-04-02 16:27 |
| #9 My Great Grandpa was one last surviving Civil War vets. Both my Great Great on my mother and my father's side were flag-bearers (ie: too young to carry a gun) My mom used to watch him ride his horse every year in the parade. He wasn't one of the last to die - there were other's after him, but he was one of the last to appear in the local parades. |
| Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 2007-04-02 16:25 |
| #8 To quote Winston Churchill's comment about the RAF: "Never have so few done so much for so many." Rest in peace, Lloyd Brown. A grateful nation thanks you. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-02 15:18 |
| #7 My late father used to tell me about the spit & whittle club at Purcell's store. They'd sit out on the porch and chat hours on end and tell stories to the young lads of the village. Some were Civil War vets, and a few from the Spanish American War. It was the 1920's and the oil boom was on. Dad told of a Dr. Alan Brooks fresh out of medical school in NY, who got off the train while enroute to the great west. He liked the town so well forgot about Wyoming, and stayed on to start a medical practice on a lot behind the store. Doc Brooks took time off to volunteer as a surgeon for England in the Great War. He was discharged from the US Army and returned to Southern Illinois to practice medicine until his death in 1950. Patriots all, and none forgotten. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-04-02 15:09 |
| #6 It's even more unfortunate that, in this day of inexpensive video, someone didn't sit down with Mr. Brown a few years back and record all his stories. We should be doing this with all the older vets so as to preserve their words and common wisdom for the future. I think we're going to need it. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2007-04-02 14:57 |
| #5 As a child, I too, remember the passing of the last Civil War Veteran. I believe he was a former Confederate Drummer Boy. Great memories that define our life... |
| Posted by: borgboy2001 2007-04-02 12:36 |
| #4 As a child in the 50's I remember hearing about the deaths of the last surviving Civil War veterans. I didn't appreciate what that meant until much later as my grandfathers' generation, the doughboys of WWI, passed from the scene. The sad thing now is watching our WWII veterans fade away at the rate of 1,000 per day. May the Good Lord welcome them home. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-04-02 10:24 |
| #3 My regards and condolences. I used to work as a Nurses Aide over 20 years ago in a VA hospital. I had the pleasure of the company of these men. There weren't many even around even then. Along with their deaths will pass the knowledge and wisdom of their era. It always saddens me when I hear about stories like these. Even sadder knowing that eventually we will begin seeing more stories like these for the folks who fought in World War II and Korea. Members of my own family living and deceased were vets of this era. God Bless. "Non sibi sed patriae" (Not self but country) |
| Posted by: Delphi2005 2007-04-02 10:00 |
| #2 I am now old. As a kid of the sixties, I met quite a few WWI vets - various grandparents, folks to visit in nursing homes, and a few who volunteered at weekly boy scout meetings. Great folks all, hard to believe only a few left. |
| Posted by: Throque Gonque2829 2007-04-02 08:46 |
| #1 God Bless you sir. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-04-02 08:06 |