Jack Shelton Brown
Corporal Jack S. Brown served with George Company, Second Battalion, 24th Marines.
He was killed in action at Saipan, Mariana Islands, on 8 July 1944..
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 434673
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of 11 May 2022
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 3, 1922
at Virginia Beach, VA
Parents
Alexander Cone Brown (d. 1929)
Sadie Irene (Stakes) Brown
Education
Oceana High School
Occupation & Employer
Fort Story
Post Exchange attendant
Service Life
Entered Service
May 21, 1942
at Norfolk, VA
Home Of Record
26th Street
Virginia Beach, VA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Sadie S. Brown
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
Squad Leader
Primary Unit
G/2/24th Marines
Campaigns Served
Roi-Namur
Saipan
Individual Decorations
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal Jack S. Brown served as a machine gun squad leader in George Company, 24th Marines, during the battle for Saipan. He distinguished himself throughout the bitter campaign as he “fearlessly braved withering hostile fire to select favorable striking positions… and boldly led his men in delivering effective fire against a fanatical enemy.” These exploits would earn Brown the Bronze Star Medal.
On 8 July 1944, as his battalion held positions along the O-8 line on northern Saipan, Brown went to investigate a nearby cave. A Japanese sniper shot him down. His death came at the very tail end of the battle; Saipan was secured the following day.
Burial Information or Disposition
Brown’s Marine Corps casualty card states only “remains not recovered,” while his battalion’s muster roll is no more descriptive with “disposition of remains unknown.” Post-war searches failed to uncover any additional clues, and Brown was declared permanently non-recoverable in 1949. His name was inscribed at the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu.
In fact, Jack Brown’s body was retrieved from the field and transported to the Second Marine Division Cemetery on Saipan, where he was buried as an unknown in Plot E, Row 15, Grave 20. After the war, his remains (“Unknown X-30”) were examined by specialists in Manila – but the only personal effects found were a pair of shoes and the remnants of a leather belt. “X-30” was deemed unidentifiable and buried in the Manila American Cemetery.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed several Saipan unknowns in 2021, and transported the remains to Hawaii for analysis with modern methods. Fortunately, a member of Jack Brown’s family had submitted a DNA sample; with this information, X-30 was finally associated with the long lost Marine. Brown was officially accounted for on 11 May 2022.
In August 2022, Jack Brown was laid to rest in Rosewood Memorial Park, in his hometown of Virginia Beach.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Sadie S. Brown.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Brown’s unit was situated on the O-8 Line, Saipan.
Thank you. He was my Great Uncle. My grandmother Margaret Brown Conklin was his older sister.
Cpl. Brown was my Great Uncle and namesake. Thank you for leaving no man behind. May he now rest in peace!