CLEARFIELD – A Memorial Day service will take place at 11 a.m. May 27 at the Historic Crown Crest Cemetery in Clearfield.
Hosted by the John Lewis Shade American Legion Post 6, it will be held at the newly-renovated Veterans Circle Monument area.
Scott Davis—at the request of Commander Mike Butler—will be the featured speaker. Davis will share aboutClearfield County native Private First Class Melvin L. Brown, a Korean War hero who was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Brown’s niece, the former Sherie Dickey, who was raised in Clearfield, will be in attendance. During the service, she will be presented with a ceremonial American Flag in honor and memory of her uncle.
Brown’s story is quite interesting. And, Dickey provided Davis with the heirloom documents from her family for Davis to put together his history of service and heroism, which is included in its entirety below.
The saga of Clearfield County Korean War Hero, PFC Melvin L. Brown.
Three Clearfield County sons have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration.
Corporal Warren J. Shepperd of Cherry Tree received the award for heroism in the Spanish-American War in Cuba. First Lieutenant Dwite H. Schaffner of Falls Creek was honored in World War I.
The Medal of Honor, for gallantry and bravery, was created during the Civil War, and many were randomly awarded during the late 1800’s.
With the beginning of the 20th Century, the requirements were tightened and investigations became thorough.
Since then, over 30 million Americans have served in the military, and only 1,003 Medals of Honor have been awarded. As in Brown’s case, about 20 percent have been awarded posthumously.
Born Feb. 22, 1931, Melvin Louis Brown was a country boy, born and raised in Mahaffey, one of 10 children. He enjoyed skiing and ice skating in the winter and fishing and swimming during the summer.
He worked as a mechanic before dropping out of high school and enlisting in the Army in October of 1948 at the age of 17.
He was inspired by his older brother, Donald, who had enlisted earlier and was stationed in Japan. His brothers, Wayne and Curtis, would also serve in the military.
Brown was sent to Japan, where he served for 18 months. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, and in late July, Brown was deployed to the Korean Peninsula, assigned to Company D of the 8th Engineer Combat Battalion.
On Sept. 4, 1950, barely a month after he arrived in country, his platoon was securing Hill 755 near Ka-san, on the Pusan Perimeter, known as the Walled City. The enemy counter-attacked, using heavy machine gun and small arms fire.
And, his citation reads:
“Taking a position on a 50-foot-high wall, he rained rifle fire on the enemy until his ammunition was exhausted. Although wounded, he remained at his post and expended his few grenades against the enemy, causing many causalities.
“As his adversaries continued to assault his position, PFC Brown’s comrades tossed more grenades to him. He left his position, braving a hail of fire to retrieve the grenades and deploy them against the enemy.
“Again, the enemy attacked, and the brave soldier, weaponless, drew his entrenching tool from his pack, and calmly waited until, one by one, the enemy peered over the wall, at which time he delivered a crushing blow to their skull.
“Knocking 10 or 12 enemy from the wall so inspired his platoon that they ultimately repelled the attack and held their position. Melvin was declared Missing in Action the next day.”
His family received a telegram in October stating that he was MIA. On Jan. 6, 1951, four months after the battle, an Army representative arrived at his parents’ home and informed them that he had been declared dead.
Brown’s family was invited to the White House later that month to receive their son’s Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman.
It read, in part, “PFC Brown’s extraordinary heroism, gallantry and intrepidity reflect the highest credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.”
His parents and some of his siblings attended the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. In attendance were Evelyn Dickey of Clearfield; Dorothy Peace from Mahaffey; Beatrice Seger of Glen Campbell; Pvt. Calvin Brown, from Atlanta, Ga.; and his parents Rhoda and Edward Brown. At that time, his brother, Pvt. Donald Brown, was deployed in Korea.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, he was awarded the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal and three different Korean Service Medals.
This American hero’s remains were accompanied home from Korea by his brother, Donald in October 1951, and he is interred in the Mahaffey Cemetery within sight of his home.
His Medal and Citation were presented by his family to Clearfield County, and are displayed on the Medal of Honor Memorial Wall in the Courthouse Annex, along with those of Corporal Sheppard and Lieutenant Schaffner.
Monuments and facilities named in his honor can be found on military bases in both the United States and Korea, as well as locally at the Community Volunteer Fire Company in Mahaffey, the Route 36 Bridge over the Susquehanna and the Army Reserve Center in Clearfield. Most recently, a mural depicting Brown was painted on a building near the Memorial Bridge.
“Memorial Day is the most expensive holiday on the calendar,” expressed Davis. “Every hot dog, every burger, every spin around the lake or drink with friends and family that we enjoy, carries a debt incurred at the expense of others.
“[It] is not about all who’ve served: that day comes in November. This holiday, Memorial Day, is in honor of those who paid in life and blood [and] whose moms never saw them again, whose dads wept, whose wives raised kids alone and whose children remember them only from pictures.
“This is a day to remember that others paid for every breath you’ve ever taken. Never forget, freedom isn’t free.”