As I wrote in our November 2024 Vegas Voice edition, a few years ago, our Executive Director, Bill Caserta, handed me a very old and crumpled document. It was an “Honorable Discharge from the United States Navy” dated November 1912 belonging to seaman John Lawrence Brown.
Bill advised that he received it from a friend who purchased it in an estate sale. The total cost for it (along with other knick-knacks) was fifty cents.
I kept the paper for its historical significance but always wondered, “Who was this guy?” And did he have a family?
I thought it would be beyond special if somehow The Vegas Voice could track down seaman Brown’s descendants and present them with the certificate.
Fast forward several years and I met Craig Smith who is a member of the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society. The Vegas Voice is very fortunate to have him as our “Exploring Your Roots” columnist.
I showed him the Discharge paper and told him my “pipe dream.” Could we, after all these years, and with no other information to go by, locate his (assuming he even had one) family? After all, I said with a smile, how hard would it be to track down family descendants with the last name of “Brown?”
To his credit he immediately asked if he and his fellow genealogists (Karen Stewart and Sylvia “Sam” Espino) could see if they could “find him.” Unbelievably, they did.
What better way to remember and honor Seaman Brown (and all veterans) who served our country than to do so this month.
As elaborated by Craig in his article, (pages 14-15) we were able to present Seaman Brown’s certificate to the Pennsylvania Boyertown Historical Society on behalf of his great-niece Diane Berko.
The brief ceremony (with the fantastic participation of the American Legion, Post 471) was our Vegas Voice tribute to an “ordinary man” who served in the military. He was just one of the millions who served our country and as Memorial Day approaches this month, we wanted to do our (very small) part to say, “Thank you for your service.”
Hopefully when everyone is enjoying the 3-day weekend with their bar-b-ques and trips to the mall to take advantage of holiday sales, they can take a moment, even a brief moment, to thank the men and women who gave their lives so we can live free.
To Seaman Brown for his service over a century ago, and countless other ordinary, regular and unknown Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, may they rest in peace knowing that we proudly remember and salute them.
