Lloyd D. Brown

Lloyd D. Brown

Major General Lloyd D. Brown, commander of the 28th Infantry Division in World War II.
Born (1892-07-28)July 28, 1892
Sharon, Georgia
Died February 17, 1950(1950-02-17) (aged 57)
Washington, Georgia
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1917–1948
Rank Major General
Service number O-5549
Commands held 28th Infantry Division
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Silver Star
Legion of Merit

Lloyd D. Brown (July 28, 1892 – February 17, 1950) was a United States Army Major General who commanded the 28th Infantry Division in World War II.

Early life

Lloyd Davidson Brown was born in Sharon, Georgia on July 28, 1892.[1] He graduated from Augusta’s Academy of Richmond County in 1908, and the University of Georgia in 1912. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta and Phi Beta Kappa, and after graduating was employed as an instructor at Georgia Military Academy.[2]

World War I

In 1917 Brown received his Army commission as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry, and was originally assigned to the 26th Infantry Regiment.[3] During World War I he served in France as commander of Company G, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division.[4]

Post-World War I

Brown’s post-war assignments included Professor of Military Science at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and postings as a company commander and regimental Plans, Operations and Training (S3) staff officer for the 45th Infantry Regiment in the Philippines.[5][6]

He graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in 1923, the Infantry Advanced Course in 1928, and the Command and General Staff College in 1930.[7]

In the late 1930s he served on the staff of the National Guard Bureau, and was an instructor and advisor for the Illinois National Guard’s 131st Infantry Regiment.[8][9]

World War II

Brown served on the War Department staff at the start of World War II, and subsequently served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (G3) at Headquarters, Army Ground Forces.[10] During the Army’s wartime expansion he was accused of encouraging regular Army officers to have National Guard senior officers replaced by writing negative performance evaluations on them, enabling regular Army officers to fill these positions and receive promotions and command assignments.[11][12][13][14]

In 1942 he became the 102nd Infantry Division’s Assistant Division Commander as a temporary Brigadier General.[15]

In February 1943 he was promoted to temporary Major General as commander of the 28th Infantry Division, succeeding Omar Bradley, who had been assigned as Dwight Eisenhower’s personal representative in the North African Theater of Operations. Brown led the division during training in England and the subsequent Operation Cobra attacks in Normandy following the D-Day invasion. He served until being relieved in August 1944 over concerns that the division was not progressing rapidly enough against German defenses.[16]

Brown’s performance and subsequent reputation were mixed. XIX Corps commander Charles H. Corlett thought Brown needed a medical leave because he was sick and “rundown.” One of Brown’s battalion commanders thought Brown was not up to the challenge of commanding large units in combat and described him as “frantic.” Bradley, now commanding the Twelfth United States Army Group, and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force commander Dwight D. Eisenhower believed Brown was personally brave, but not an inspirational leader, and that his soldiers underperformed as a result. Unlike several others division commanders who were relieved and later received second opportunities to command, in Brown's case Eisenhower recommended to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall that he not be given another command. Marshall concurred.[17]

Brown reverted to his permanent rank of Colonel and served in staff assignments, including Director of Training at the Infantry School, until retiring in 1948.[18] In 1949 he was promoted to Major General on the retired list.[19][20]

Awards

Brown’s awards included the Silver Star and Legion of Merit, and Lloyd Brown Hall at Fort Benning was named for him.[21][22][23][24]

His home in Washington, Georgia, the Leitner-Norris Home, was built circa 1814. It is still a privately owned residence, and a local historic landmark.[25]

Death and burial

Brown died in Washington, Georgia on February 17, 1950, and was buried at Resthaven Cemetery in Washington.[26][27]

Family

Lloyd Brown’s first wife was Benita Allen (1895-1925), whom he married in 1919. In 1929 he married Katherine Green Brown (1895-1981).[28][29][30] With his first wife he had a son, Allen Davidson Brown (1925-2001).[31][32]

References

  1. ↑ Marquis Who's Who, Who Was Who in American History: The Military, 1975, page 68
  2. ↑ George Fuller Walker, Persons Lineage, 1951, page 106
  3. ↑ Army and Navy Register, Assignments of Officers, July 14, 1917, page 5
  4. ↑ Sarah Cantey Whitaker Allen, Our Children's Ancestry, 1935, page 437
  5. ↑ Army and Navy Register, The Army: Infantry, October 16, 1920, page 406
  6. ↑ U.S. Army Adjutant General, Officers of the Army, April 1931, page 173
  7. ↑ U.S. Army Adjutant General, Official U.S. Army Register, 1946, page 87
  8. ↑ United States Infantry Association, Infantry Journal, Volume 44, 1937, pages 356, 457
  9. ↑ Illinois Military and Naval Department, National Guard Bureau Circular, 1938, page 143
  10. ↑ William C. Sylvan, Francis G. Smith Jr., Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges, 2009, Chapter 2, Footnote 14
  11. ↑ Kent Roberts Greenfield, Robert R. Palmer and Bell I. Wiley, United States Army in World War II: The Army Ground Forces, The Organization of Ground Combat Troops, 1987, page 13
  12. ↑ Michael E. Weaver, Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II, 2010, page 117
  13. ↑ Jim Dan Hill, The Minute Man in Peace and War: A History of the National Guard, 1964, page 414
  14. ↑ George Catlett Marshall, author, Larry I. Bland, Sharon Ritenour Stevens, editors, The Papers of George Catlett Marshall: "The Right Man for the Job”, December 7, 1941-May 31, 1943, 1991, pages 220, 226
  15. ↑ Paris (Texas) News, Assistant Division Commander For Maxey Reports, August 14, 1942
  16. ↑ Michael E. Weaver, Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II, 2010, page 144
  17. ↑ Andrew Rawson, The Divisional Commander in the U.S. Army in World War II: A Case Study of the Normandy Campaign, 6 June 1944 to 24 July 1944, 2011, pages 128-129
  18. ↑ Army and Navy Journal, Incorporated, Armed Forces Journal International, Volume 84, Issues 1-26, 1946, page 274
  19. ↑ William C. Sylvan, Francis G. Smith Jr., Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges, 2009, Chapter 2, Footnote 14
  20. ↑ Army and Navy Journal, Inc., Army and Navy Journal, Volume 86, Issues 1-26, 1948, page 474
  21. ↑ U.S. Army Adjutant General, Official U.S. Army Register, 1947, page 138
  22. ↑ U.S. Army Adjutant General, Official U.S. Army Register, 1949, page 630
  23. ↑ Home of Heroes, U.S. Army Awards of the Silver Star in World War II, entry for Brown, Lloyd D., XIX Corps, retrieved April 2, 2014
  24. ↑ Janet Harvill Standard, The Historic Homes of Washington, Georgia, 1973, page 28
  25. ↑ Georgia Realty Sales.com, The Leitner-Norris Home on Alexander, c.1814, retrieved April 2, 2014
  26. ↑ Georgia Death Listings, 1919-98, 1950 entry for Lloyd D. Brown, retrieved April 2, 2014
  27. ↑ U.S. Army, Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963], 1950 entry for Lloyd Davidson Brown, retrieved April 2, 2014
  28. ↑ Katherine Green Brown at Find A Grave
  29. ↑ Sarah Cantey Whitaker Allen, Our Children's Ancestry, 1935, pages 436-437
  30. ↑ Benita Allen Brown at Find A Grave
  31. ↑ Savannah Morning News, Obituary: Allen D. Brown, May 5, 2001
  32. ↑ U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current, 2001 entry for Allen D. Brown, retrieved April 2, 2014

External links

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