Oldest survivor of World War II Bataan Death March, dies at 105

[TonyU]

We lost another true American hero. RIP Mr. Brown.

Article (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/16/2011-08-16_brown_105_bataan_survivor.html).

[Webmaster]

What an incredible story! Thanks for posting this Tony. Rest in Peace Mr. Brown. You are what true heroes are made of.

[Tripitaka of AA]

A fascinating reminder of the age of some combat troops in WW2. This man was 32 when he was called up for service (1937), and already 37 when he was taken captive in 1942. Is it just my ignorance.. aren't the battlefield troops a lot younger than that these days? Or is it just that they are all in great physical shape and consequently look young.

[Webmaster]

A fascinating reminder of the age of some combat troops in WW2. This man was 32 when he was called up for service (1937), and already 37 when he was taken captive in 1942. Is it just my ignorance.. aren't the battlefield troops a lot younger than that these days? Or is it just that they are all in great physical shape and consequently look young.
Mr. Brown was not a typical combat troop, but an older educated professional that was called to service as a dentist. This is not that uncommon even today with doctors and dentists who go in the military either out of a sense of patriotism or to repay their student loans which put them through medical or dental school.

[Jonathan Randall]

Rest in Peace.

Many people don't know how old many WW2 veterans were when they joined the service. 30+ was not at all uncommon and late forties not unheard of. The college professor in one of Leon Uris' WW2 books, IIRC, was based upon a real college professor who enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor. In professional fields such as medicine, many were commissioned in their 50's. It is a shame to see them and their generation passing on. We need men, and women, today, such as these were.

[Abbax8]

I truly hope that our kids today learn about the sacrifices that the WW 2 vets made as well as learn to respect all of our military. During Vietnam it was common for the military to be hated and a whole generation of kids got a bad taste in their mouth for our soldiers. We need to change that with our current and future generations. It is an honorable thing to serve your country.

Dennis