HAMILTON, Ohio — More than two years ago, a contingent of Hamiltonians and others started a push to honor a son of the city.
Staff Sgt. Fred Brown heroically went into a firefight in Vietnam, bringing back an injured soldier three separate times before throwing himself onto a grenade to save more, said Mayor Pat Moeller.
“This man is a hero,” Moeller said. “The more you read about him, the more you realize what this man did, and he deserves even more honors than that.”
Moeller and a city full of others believe the Garfield High School graduate deserves the Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.
For his efforts and actions, Brown was posthumously awarded the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, the service branch’s second-highest medal of valor.
As city leaders wait to find out if Brown will be awarded the Medal of Honor, Hamilton will again celebrate him. At noon on Saturday, the city will erect a flagpole at Bailey Square to celebrate Brown’s heroism.
In 2019, the city inducted its first class into the Hamilton Veterans Hall of Fame. In May 2023, Hamilton crews installed more than 120 banners mounted on poles around the city as part of its Hometown Heroes program. This year, more than 600 are on display until Veterans Day.
Brown’s Hometown Heroes banner is on the High-Main Bridge with others killed in action.
Brown was a platoon sergeant for B Company in the 4th Battalion (Mechanized), 23rd Infantry, 25th Infantry Division while serving in Vietnam. His company came under heavy fire on March 15, 1969. The enemy was hidden, and his company began taking on casualties as the well-concealed enemy continued its onslaught.
Charging into the fray, Brown rescued a wounded soldier. Then he went back to rescue another. And then a third.
However, he sustained severe wounds during the third pass at rescuing a fellow soldier. Still, he brought his brother-in-arms back to safety.
An enemy grenade was then thrown and landed near Brown and the others he had just saved. Brown did not hesitate, shielding the wounded soldier. He was killed in action.
On July 22, 1970, Brown was awarded the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, which is awarded for a “display of extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.”
More than 3,500 Medals of Honor have been awarded across all military branches (255 Ohioans), with more than 600 having been awarded posthumously. Of the medals awarded, 271 have been awarded for actions in Vietnam, four more than when the Journal-News first reported on Brown’s heroism.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.com.
