Former Staff Sgt. Russell Brown was one of the legendary paratroopers who made every combat jump during World War II, forever cementing his place in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Brown passed away Aug. 31 at the age of 96 in Georgetown, Kentucky, according to an obituary. A spokesman for the 82nd Airborne confirmed the Purple Heart recipient had been one of the lauded soldiers who parachuted into Salerno and Sicily, Italy, as well as Normandy, France, and Njimegen, Holland.
His story was featured in “Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry” and “All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division,” non-fiction accounts by Phil Nordyke, where he told the story of his time as a mortar squad leader with Brown, who had been a mortar squad leader with F Company.
After the Army, Brown went to work as an explosives technician at DuPont and Co. He is survived by two daughters, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, according to his obituary.
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Brown was one of about a dozen soldiers still alive who had made all four jumps. Retired 1st. Sgt. Harold Eatman died in July at the age of 102.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
