SEAL memorial to add coins
Pentagon official presents mementos for Hot Springs man
HOT SPRINGS — An emissary of Assistant Chief of Army Reserve Stephen Austin presented the family of Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown with two commemorative coins Wednesday that will be placed on an underwater memorial to Brown in Lake Ouachita.
Brown, a Lake Hamilton alumnus, was killed in action March 17, 2010, in Afghanistan. Austin, who serves at the Pentagon, learned of Brown’s story and recruited Lt. Col. Brian Kilgore to present the coins to Janice and Larry Brown in honor of their son.
Kilgore explained the significance of the coins, which have an Army Reserve emblem on one side and “presented by” with Austin’s name and title on the other.
“It’s kind of unique, because a lot of people don’t have their names on the coins,” said Kilgore, who is from Hot Springs and a Lake Hamilton alumnus.
Austin serves as the primary adviser to the chief of Army Reserve within Headquarters, Department of the Army, and represents the Army Reserve in the formulation and synchronization of policy and strategy at the national, departmental and service levels, according to a news release.
He provides oversight to the chief of Army Reserve’s staff and directs the development of policy, resourcing and plans for generating, sustaining and integrating Army Reserve force capabilities.
Austin read about Hot Springs and Brown and became interested in the water memorial because it’s the only one of its kind in the nation, Kilgore said.
Austin suggested that Kilgore reach out to the Brown family. Kilgore said Austin told him that he would like to give the Brown family the coins for Brown’s “ultimate sacrifice.”
The coins were presented to Brown’s family at their home Wednesday morning.
The coins will be given to Will Stevens, who proposed the idea for the underwater memorial and is in charge of it, and Janice Brown said Stevens “will be thrilled” with the addition of the coins.
Larry Brown noted there are many coins already on the memorial. Stevens maintains the coins, he said, which are cleaned once a year.
“We’ll get these to him, and he will take them down and place them,” Larry Brown said.
“Of course, I don’t scuba dive, so I’m not taking it down,” Brown added, laughing.
After the coins were presented to the Browns, Larry Brown asked Kilgore if he had read the book about their son, “Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team Six Operator Adam Brown,” by Eric Blehm.
Kilgore said he hadn’t read the book. Larry Brown presented him with a copy, and Janice Brown gave him a second copy to give to Austin.
“This is quite an honor for someone this high up to be thinking about that memorial,” Larry Brown said. “Didn’t know it had gone that high.”
Kilgore said it was an honor to present the coins to the Browns.
“I’ve never met the Brown family before,” he said, noting that he was “just lucky” to be from the same town as Brown.
“I wish that Mr. Austin could be here today,” Kilgore said.
“We always appreciate people remembering him,” Janice Brown said.
A 5K run is held each March in memory of Adam Brown. This year’s 11th Adam Brown Shamrock Run was held virtually to raise money, which the family will use to help the community.
“We were glad we could do it,” Larry Brown said, noting that he missed seeing friends in person this year. “Next year hopefully covid[-19] will be a thing of the past, and hopefully we’ll do [in-person and virtual races].”