82nd AB, 507th PIR, Normandy, WIA Operation Varsity

[kanemono]

Geroge Russell Brown was born on January 3, 1921 in Donora, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Wheeler, Georgia on June 18, 1942. Staff Sergeant Brown was in Company I, 3^rd Battalion, 507^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82^nd Airborne Division. He jumped into Normandy on June 6, 1944. The 507th and the 508th PIR’s were to be dropped near the west bank of the Merderet River. The objective of both regiments was to establish defensive positions in those areas and prepare to attack westward sealing off the Cotentin Peninsula. In the predawn hours of D-Day the sporadic jump patterns of the 507th and 508th PIR’s left troopers spread out over a twenty mile area. Some who overshot the Drop Zone dropped into the Merderet River and its adjoining marshes. Many troopers who jumped with heavy equipment were unable to swim free and drowned. Others roamed the countryside until they encountered other units and joined their effort. Throughout the confusion in the days and weeks following D-Day the 82nd Airborne were able to seize La Fiere bridge and push westward to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula. After 33 days of continuous combat the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions returned to England.

Staff Sergeant Brown also made a combat jump in Operation Varsity in the vicinity of Wesel, just north of the Ruhr, on March 24^th, 1945. Operation Varsity would be the last full scale airborne drop of World War II and the assignment went to the 17th Airborne Division with the 507th spearheading the assault dropping at the southern edge of the Diersfordter Forest, three miles northwest of Wesel where Brown was wounded by a rifle bullet which caused a compound fracture of fibula shaft on March 24^th 1945. After the war Brown worked for the Charleroi Post Office. George Russell Brown died at the age of 52 on March 13, 1973 in Donora, Pennsylvania. He is buried in Mon Valley Memorial Park, Carroll Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.

 

Staff Sergeant Brown’s records were destroyed in the fire at the National Archives in St. Louis. Brown’s group was sold at a Good Will store in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The group includes Staff Sergeant Brown’s privately engraved Purple Heart and his sterling silver jump wings with a jeweler made bronze arrowhead for participation in the Normandy invasion and two bronze stars for combat jumps in Normandy and Operation Varsity.

 

 

[kanemono]

next..

[doyler]

Dick

 

Wonderful group and tribute.

 

Thanks for posting.

[MMcollector]

That has got to be the coolest private engraved PH I have ever seen! Killer group with a great story! Thanks for sharing.

[crotalus358]

Great group, and spectacular private engraving to a local guy!! Donora is about 30 mins upriver from me. Very nicely-done tribute!

[katieony]

A very nice tribute! The engraving on the Purple Heart is certainly unique and definitely a lost art. Thank you for sharing his story and the images!

 

Mike

[jguy1986]

That engraving is phenomenal.

[manayunkman]

Awesome arrow on the jump wing.

 

I would love to see a close up of the wing engravingon the PH, that is incredible.

[BILL THE PATCH]

Awesome group, he died very young and after all the horrors he seen. Very sad.

 

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

 

 

[kanemono]

Manayunkman, here is a blowup of the wings on the PH. Also both sides of the wings. The arrowhead and stars are soldered to the wings

[tarbridge]

Great group Dick...that has to be the A#1 Cool Daddy engraved Purple Heart to a Paratrooper...and he made it home.

[JDK]

Very cool engraving on the heart. Thanks for sharing his story!

 

JD

[BEAST]

Wonderful group! Thanks for telling his story!

[TFH]

As a 17th AB collector, I love these amazing grouping !

Richard

[BigJohn#3RD]

Awesome tribute to a WW2 Paratrooper.