Robert Henry Brown

Private First Class Robert Brown worked at Sears Roebuck in the tire and battery department prior to his induction in March, 1943. He received his basic training at Camp Myles Standish, MA. Robert was first assigned to Company A 502 Port BNTC and then to 270th Port Co. His special work with the Port Battalion was loading ships. He suffered an injury requiring an operation. Upon his recovery, he was attached to the 535 Port Co. 516 Port Battalion, landing on the Omaha beachhead on D-Day. After 15 days he was sent to Cherbourg. His outfit was the first company of color to open the docks at Cherbourg under fire. Robert's Company was assigned to driving trucks with the "red ball" throughout France and Belgium. In August, 1945, Robert fell from a fast-moving truck and suffered a brain concussion that required hospitalization for 6 weeks. He was discharged shortly after returning to his outfit in February, 1946 at Fort Dix, NJ.

* The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. To expedite cargo shipment to the front, trucks emblazoned with red balls followed a similarly marked route that was closed to civilian traffic.