REMEMBERING A FORGOTTEN HERO
Prospect Park ceremony honors native son killed 50 years ago
TROY, N.Y. » As children played just a few yards away, more than 200 people gathered in Prospect Park on Thursday night to remember a man who gave his life exactly 50 years ago so they could live in freedom.
The family of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Francis Brown hosted the remembrance in front of the flagpole dedicated in his honor, sharing a story of heroism under fire many admitted they were unaware of prior to the ceremony.
Brown was a quartermaster stationed on the USS Liberty who was among 34 crew members killed when the technical research ship was attacked June 8, 1967, by Israeli jet fighters and motor torpedo boats in international waters north of the Sinai peninsula during the Six-Day War with Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel later apologized for the attack, claiming its military had mistaken the ship for an Eqyptian ship, but the incident remains shrouded in mystery to this day.
“While we may hunger for the unvarnished truth, one thing is clear: Petty Officer Brown gave his life for us,” said Mayor Patrick Madden, who spoke during the ceremony. “I
stand in awe of the actions of this 20-year-old man, and we all owe the Brown family a debt of gratitude.”
According to accounts of the attack, including one read during the ceremony from a surviving shipmate, Brown was the senior enlisted man on duty and took the helm of the ship after the helmsman was wounded by rocket fragments. He continued to maneuver the ship as it was under attack until he was felled by a bullet to the back of the neck.
“There’s not enough I could say about the bravery of Brownie, a man I am proud to have called my friend,” wrote Phillip Tourney, who was also a petty officer and was among the crew members battling the numerous fires sparked by napalm, torpedos and rocket fire that left the ship badly damaged.
Brown was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor, as well as a Purple Heart, the Navy Presidential Unit Citation, the National Defense Service Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon.
One of six sons born to Wade and Theresa Brown, Francis Brown was followed into military service by four of his five brothers. To younger brother Mike, though, he was more than a military hero, remembering how he would bring his little brother to the Troy Boys Club after school and check to make sure he was doing his homework.
“He was my favorite brother,” said Mike Brown, who choked up as he read Tourney’s letter at the end of the ceremony.
To lifelong family friend and Rensselaer County Legislator Mark Fleming, Francis Brown was a man who lived by the oath he took as a Navy recruit, one very similar to that taken by public officials when they assume office to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States.
“Francis took that oath seriously,” Fleming said. “He faithfully executed his duties and beyond.”
Brown’s family was presented with a host of local, state and federal proclamations, along with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol last month at the request of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. In presenting that flag to the family, retired U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, recounted the loss his own family suffered when his brother, Bill, was killed in action in Vietnam two years after Brown’s death.
“Whoever coined the phrase ‘Time heals all wounds’ didn’t know what they were talking about,” McNulty said. “Gold Star Families know that as times goes by, the pain may subside, but it never goes away.”