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January 12, 2008 -- Our son, brother, fiance, friend, teammate, neighbor and
fellow soldier, James Eric Brown, would have been 22 years old today. He would have been married for 11 months.
He might have been a proud father already. I hope that all of you who knew James or his family and fiance
will take a few minutes today to remember him in your thoughts and prayers. In the end, he was there for us ... making us
the kind of country that opposes dictators and does not abandon the dictator's victims to face starvation, ruin
and oppression by others.
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James Eric Brown, a Marine Lance Corporal from Owensville, Indiana, gave
his life for his country on November 2, 2006, while serving in Iraq. He was 20 years old.
James received a single gunshot to the back of the head while
standing sentry duty at an observation post near Camp Habbaniyah. Next to the city of Habbaniyah, the Camp lies
in the most dangerous zone for American forces, Al Anbar Province. Habbaniyah is just nine miles west
of Fallujah and lies on the road between Fallujah and Ramadi. James had been in Iraq for just four months.
James is survived by his mom, Joanne ("Jody") Van Antwerp, and also
by his brother, Dillen, and sister, Carma, who were 14 and 17 when James died. He is also survived by his
beloved fiance, Jamie Coleman, whom he was to marry upon returning from Iraq in February, 2007.
James will be missed by a host of relatives, football teammates,
boxing teammates, schoolmates, fellow soldiers and friends who loved, admired and respected him immensely.
This was a leader of men ... an iron-man football player who was
voted most valuable player by his teammates ... a man who won two Golden Gloves titles while leading his team to
state honors in the tournament ... a man who took care of his family ... a man who looked forward to his wedding
with Jamie and having his own kids ... a man who accepted Christ and was baptized ... a man who served
his country with such zeal that he was promoted during basic and led patrols just four months into his combat
assignment.
This Web site is dedicated to James and his family. In it, I will share something
of James' life, his family, his sports and his military service. In it, I hope to show people who never knew James just
how high a cost young Americans, and their families and communities, pay to keep our country and our friends and allies
free.
I have talked to many of James' Marine buddies. Many of them returned to Iraq
in November 2007 with James' India Company. They and their families are again in the line of fire and we keep them
and all of our soldiers in our prayers. These soldiers lose friends and suffer trauma that will never leave them
... and yet they continue to serve. "Someone has to do this", they will tell you. "It might as well be me."
Soldiers are not highly paid and veterans' benefits are nothing close to what they
should be. Our soldiers, however, do not ask for that much. As one Marine recently wrote, "all we want is an occasional
'thank you' ... it means a whole lot."
So let me say it here. Thank you for all you do for us.
___
A biography about James and about the response to his death is nearly
complete. Over 56 interviews have been completed and a 274 page fifth draft is in print.
If you have stories, photos or remembrances of James that you feel
should be considered, please contact the Webmaster listed on the Contact page.
This site and the original site may be
found by typing the word jamesericbrown in your Google SEARCH bar.
Most photographs on this site are copyright (1986 - 2007) Joanne Van Antwerp,
Mary Hess, Charles Allen, Darin Dewig, Jeff Klump, Daniel Hunter and Chris Hays. Senior photos are republished
courtesy of Straub Photography (Evansville). Football photos are republished courtesy of Gerald D. Frohbieter,
Frohbieter Photography (Haubstadt). U.S. government or military photos included here are in the pubic domain.
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