[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING LIEUTENANT COMMANDER WESLEY A. BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the House of Representatives 
to join me in recognizing Lieutenant Commander Wesley A. Brown '49, 
CEC, USN (Ret.), the first African American graduate of the U.S. Naval 
Academy, who died on May 22, 2012, for his service to his country and 
to the residents of the District of Columbia. Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 
6, 2012, the U.S. Naval Academy will hold Commander Brown's memorial 
service in the Academy's Main Chapel, a short walk from the stadium, 
the Wesley A. Brown Field House, named for him in recognition of his 
historic place in history.
  The District of Columbia had no representation in Congress at the 
time, but Representative Adam Clayton Powell (NY) nominated Mr. Brown 
to the Naval Academy in 1945. According to historian Robert J. 
Schneller, Jr., who was commissioned by the Navy to write a book about 
Lieutenant Brown, Breaking the Color Barrier: The U.S. Naval Academy's 
First Black Midshipmen and the Struggle for Racial Equality, ``Having 
attended high school, played sports, led the Cadet Corps, held a full-
time job, and taken a college course all at the same time, Brown was 
accustomed to working hard, working smart, and budgeting his time.''
  Commander Brown never stopped serving his country. He chaired the 
District of Columbia Service Academy Selection Board and was Chairman 
Emeritus until his death. A lifelong resident of the District of 
Columbia, Lieutenant Commander Brown, the first in his family to be 
college-educated, grew up in Washington's Logan Circle neighborhood, 
and attended Dunbar High School, where he led the Dunbar Cadet Corps 
battalion. Upon his graduation, Mr. Brown attended Howard University 
through the Army's Specialized Training Reserve Program, because he was 
not old enough to apply to West Point.
  Lieutenant Commander Brown is remembered as a hero at the United 
States Naval Academy and in his home town. With his beaming smile, Wes, 
who was always good for conversation and armed with an extraordinary 
memory and a sharp intellect, offered anecdotes instructed with living 
history. Lieutenant Commander Wes Brown, who withstood battle and gave 
generously of himself, had the heart of a warship.
  I ask the House to join me in offering our sincere condolences and 
sympathy to Wes Brown's widow, Crystal, his children, Willeta, Carol, 
Wesley, Jr. and Gary, and his seven grandchildren, and in thanksgiving 
for a lifetime of service.

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