DOB/DOD: March 13, 1982 (New Haven, CT) – September 23, 2008; 26 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Button Road; Shelton
ENLISTMENT: Enlisted on October 5, 2005; separated on April 12, 2006
COMMISSIONED: April 13, 2008
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 11A; Infantry Officer
UNIT: Company A, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (“Old Ironsides”); Smith Barracks, Germany
FAMILY: Born to Kevin J. (1952-2005) and Carol M. Platkiewicz Tierney Brown (1952-). One twin brother, Timothy (1982-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with device, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), Army Overseas Ribbon, Combat Infantry Badge, Parachutist Badge (Basic), and the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Killed by small-arms fire on a patrol in Salman Park, Iraq.
Notre Dame High School; Class of 2000.
George Mason University (Fairfax, VA); Class of 2004. He did not appear in the yearbook for his graduating year. The Special Collections Office at George Mason University provided these screenshots of the commencement program.
Narrative contributed by Carol Brown, Lieutenant Brown’s mother
Thomas was born on March 13, 1982, one minute after his twin brother Timothy. He loved growing up in Shelton and often said he would like to come back and raise his children there one day. He played Shelton Little League, Biddy basketball, and his beloved soccer from the age of 5 thru the Under-16 travel team. He graduated from Notre Dame of Fairfield High School and then went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Class of 2004. He was also a brother in the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. After graduation, he fulfilled a lifelong dream and enlisted in the Army. Thomas completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in December 2005. He graduated from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant Infantry Officer in April 2006. He completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course as well as the Mortar Leaders School, both at Fort Benning. Lieutenant Brown wanted to be the best officer he could be, so he endured the rigors of the 16-week Ranger School and went on to earn his Ranger Tab. He also obtained his Airborne Wings. In September 2007, Lieutenant Brown was assigned to the 1st Armored Division, 2-6 Infantry Regiment in Baumholder, Germany. In October of that year, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.
Carol Brown added: “Thomas was loved by his men, and he loved them back. He took a personal interest in their lives. I heard many stories from them through the years. I have met some and talked to others. They never fail to contact me in September. What I learned was that the day he was killed, he wasn’t required to go on the mission, but he never let his men go out without him. He always rode in the first vehicle, and he always ate with the guys. His proudest day in the military was graduating from Ranger school and obtaining the Ranger tab. Thomas and his twin brother, Timothy, were best friends. Causing a lot of gray hairs, but always successful in what they strive for. Thomas loved life, and he tried to experience it all, from scuba diving to sky diving.”
From an unknown newspaper contributed by Carol Brown, Lieutenant Brown’s mother
MONROE – Army First Lieutenant Thomas J. Brown was remembered at a church service last week as a courageous leader beloved by his fellow soldiers. Family, friends, and state and local officials gathered at the sanctuary of St. Jude Church to honor the 26-year-old Shelton native who was killed in combat in Iraq on September 23. The Reverend Joseph Karcinski, associate pastor, delivered the homily. He urged those in attendance to think of Brown as a martyr who gave his life for a cause greater than himself. “Consider that Lieutenant Brown and all of our servicemen and servicewomen are not only heroes, they are martyrs because they draw their strength not only from themselves but from a family and community that shares what they believe,” Karcinski said. Karcinski asked everyone to remember that Brown represented his community as he served in Iraq and that he had strong ties both to Shelton and Monroe. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that Lieutenant Brown is the son and brother of neighbors here in town. He was in Iraq representing us,” he said. “Back here, he had whole communities that believed as he believed.” Brown attended St. Jude School, and his mother, Carol, still lives in Shelton.
The Reverend William Sangiovanni, principal of Brown’s alma mater, Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, spoke of Brown’s devotion to his country and the example he set for his fellow soldiers. “Tom always wanted to be a soldier, and what a fine one he was,” Sangiovanni said. “He was the ultimate example of men and women serving in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Michael, a friend of Brown’s, described him as a natural leader who always thought first of others.
Brown’s friend read aloud several messages from a number of soldiers who had served with Brown, expressing their admiration and affection for him.
“Tom was without a doubt one of the finest I ever served with, wrote one. “He could always be depended on to do the hard right instead of the easy wrong.”
Another soldier recalled, “Somehow, no matter how miserable we all were, Tom was able to make us laugh.”
A third stated, “I would follow Lieutenant Brown into battle no matter what the situation.”
From The Connecticut Post September 25, 2008
By Kate Ramunni | Courtesy of the Connecticut Post
SHELTON — A few years ago, when Army First Lieutenant Thomas Brown was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, he found a forlorn cat that someone had apparently tossed out a window. Brown took the battered cat, cleaned it up, and adopted it as a pet, giving it a loving home. That cat, dubbed Batman, has been living with Brown’s mother, Carol, in her Button Road home since he was deployed to fight with American forces in Iraq. Now, the cat whose rescue was a reflection of Tom Brown’s caring nature is an aching reminder of his loss — the 43rd member of the military with Connecticut ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002. “That was Tom,” Carol Brown said Thursday of her son’s adoption of Batman. He always looked out for others, both people or animals. “He always seemed to be picking up abandoned animals,” she said he was equally protective of those he led into battle in Iraq. Brown, 26, died Tuesday in action in Salman Pak, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, according to the Defense Department. He was assigned to the Germany-based 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division. Soon after Brown died, the troops he commanded called his family, according to his twin brother, Tim. “They wanted to tell Mom what a straight-up guy he was,” he said, “and how much they appreciated him as an officer and how much it meant to serve under him.” Tom Brown wouldn’t ask his troops to do anything that he himself wouldn’t do, his brother said. “He led his life by example and was always in front of the pack,” he said. “He always wanted to be the one with boots on the ground and in the front of the line.” Tom Brown grew up in Shelton and attended St. Jude’s School in Monroe and Notre Dame High School in Fairfield. He went on to earn a degree in politics and government from George Mason University in Virginia. But it was always his fondest desire to serve his nation in the military, Carol Brown said. “He always said he wanted to be a soldier,” she said. “Thomas always said he wanted to make a difference, and he saw going into the military and serving in Iraq as a way to do that.” While early reports on Brown’s death indicated that he most recently lived in Burke, Virginia, he always used Shelton as his official address and had only gone to that state for a brief time to stay with his brother, Carol Brown said. Her son stuffed a lot of living into his 26 years, she said. “He loved life and wanted to experience it all,” she said. That included scuba diving, sky diving, and snowboarding, she said, as well as playing Little League baseball and Biddy Basketball in Shelton. He also played soccer throughout his school years. “He enjoyed life to its fullest,” she said, adding that he loved to travel and did so frequently. He also worked hard, earning the prestigious Army Ranger Tab by successfully completing a harrowing U.S. Army Ranger Training School on combat tactics in desert, mountain, and swamp conditions. “He reassured that most,” his mother said. “He was thrilled when he got that tab.” Carol Brown said she last spoke with her son Saturday when he recounted for her how his unit had discovered a cache of weapons. “He said that by finding that, hopefully, they saved some lives,” she said. “Those were his last words to me.” Though he didn’t have to, Brown always accompanied his unit on its missions, she said. “He insisted he go out on every mission with his men,” she said. “He believed in leading from the front, and | always scolded him about it.” Tom Brown had planned to return home for an R&R break on October 13, when he was to visit his 85-year-old grandmother and take a trip to St. Martin with his mother, his girlfriend, Angela Yeo, his brother, Tim, and his fiancée. His father, Kevin, died in 2005. “He just called me three days ago and said he couldn’t wait to get back,” Tim Brown said. Tom Brown and his brother Tim were remembered fondly on Thursday by the Rev. William Sangiovanni, the principal of Notre Dame High School. “He and his brother went here — nice kids,” he said. “It’s so disheartening to hear that news … You hate to hear news like this, but especially when it’s someone that you know.” He said that many of the Notre Dame faculty members “knew the Brown brothers. [Tom] was very active. They both played soccer and ran track, and he was involved in volunteering for the Garlic Festival and other things that we had going on here at the time.” Sangiovanni said that Brown also was in the school’s honors program. News of Brown’s death stunned Shelton residents, many of whom learned about the incident through newspaper and television reports Thursday morning. Flowers and a note to Brown were left Thursday at a veterans’ honor wall near the war memorial building at Riverview Park. Jean Stott, 44, of New Street, said Brown’s death is jarring news because it happened to someone from her hometown. “My thoughts and prayers to the kid’s family and friends. I’m honored that a kid his age would go and fight for freedom,” she said. Frances Zak, 86, of Myrtle Street, said the news made her “sick to my stomach. “It hits so close to home,” Zak said. “I just felt terrible hearing about it. The city should do something for his family.” Lisa Spinelli, 39, said Brown’s death is another reason why America’s military involvement in Iraq should end soon. “It’s unfortunate for the families and children, and I really think we should stop and bring the troops home,” she said. Funeral arrangements for Tom Brown aren’t yet set, Carol Brown said, but the wake will be held at Riverview Funeral Home in Shelton and the funeral at St. Jude’s Church in Monroe. He will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Memorialized on the Shelton Veterans Park Global War on Terrorism Monument, 38 Canal Street E, Shelton, Connecticut.
Lieutenant Brown is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section 60, Site 8744. WEBMASTER NOTE: the second photo below is the top of the headstone. It appears to be just a simple piece of tape with “Doc” written on it.
