[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 86 (Friday, June 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         IN REMEMBRANCE OF LIEUTENANT COMMANDER WESLEY A. BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 8, 2012

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
truly inspirational man, Lieutenant Commander Wesley Anthony Brown, the 
first African American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. Sadly, 
Lt. Cmdr. Brown passed away on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. On Wednesday, 
June 6, 2012, a public memorial service was held in Annapolis, 
Maryland, where more than 250 people gathered to honor his life and 
legacy.
  Lt. Cmdr. Brown was born on April 3, 1927 in Baltimore, Maryland to 
William and Rosetta Brown. During his senior year at Dunbar High School 
in Washington, D.C., he was Cadet Corps Battalion Commander. He then 
went on to attend college at Howard University.
  In 1945, Lt. Cmdr. Brown entered the U.S. Naval Academy as the sixth 
African American man admitted in its 100-year history. He would be the 
first to endure until the end the hazing, the torment, and the 
hostility bred by racial inequality. He would be the first to hold his 
head high and keep true to himself amid the tension. He would be the 
first to graduate.
  Despite the publicity surrounding this great accomplishment, Lt. 
Cmdr. Brown remained humble throughout his life. He honored those in 
whose footsteps he had followed and he spoke words of encouragement to 
those who followed in his footsteps.
  Lt. Cmdr. Brown served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars as a Navy civil 
engineer. He worked on many construction projects all over the world 
until his retirement in 1969. He then worked as a facilities analyst at 
Howard University until 1988.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Lt. 
Cmdr. Brown went far in life because he treated people the right way--
with dignity, honor and respect even when he was not treated the same 
way in return. He has been an inspiration to all of us and we are 
blessed to have had him touch our lives.
  Lt. Cmdr. Wesley A. Brown accomplished many things in his life but 
none of this would have been possible without the enduring love and 
support of his loving wife, Crystal; his children, Wesley, Jr., Gary, 
Wiletta, and Carol; and his seven grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, my wife, Vivian, and I would like to extend our deepest 
sympathies to Lt. Cmdr. Brown's family during this difficult time. May 
they be consoled and comforted by their abiding faith and the Holy 
Spirit in the days, weeks and months ahead.

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