DOB/DOD: January 15, 1919 (New Haven, CT) – January 7, 2003 (Middletown, CT); 83 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Charlotte Cohn (1922-1994) on December 7, 1941 in Norwalk, CT. Married to Eileen Porter (1927-2004) on October 16, 1996 in Norwalk, CT.
CHILDREN: One son, Ronald W. (1943-). Two daughters, Jo Ann Brown Stone (1946-) and Francine Brown DeLelle (1952-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: 8 Spring Hill Avenue and 25 Hawthorne Drive, Norwalk
ENLISTMENT: February 2, 1943
SERVICE NUMBER: 31313627
DISCHARGE: September 17, 1945
UNIT: 391st Bombardment Squadron, 34th Bombardment Group
FAMILY: Born to William M. (1888-1979) and Edith L. Woods Brown (1891-1958). Three brothers, Minor A. (1911-1940), Kenneth W. (1927-), and Richard S. (1930-1999). Six sisters, Marjorie L. Brown Luciano (1913-1997), Helen G. Brown Redman (1915-1978), Doris V. Brown Chappius (1917-2003), Marion P. Brown Redman (1923-2012), Ruth L. Brown Sterling (1925-2012), and Joyce E. Brown Uraco (1932-2020).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Silver Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal.
CIRCUMSTANCES: POW in German Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16.
From Missing Air Crew Report 10841
Departed From: Southwold, England
Target/Destination: Merseburg, Germany oil refinery
Date: November 30, 1944
Time: 1315
Plane type: B-17G
Serial number: 43-38059
Nickname: None
From Missing Air Crew Report 10841
Departed From: Southwold
Target/Destination: Merseburg, Germany oil refinery
Date: November 30, 1944
Time: 1315
Plane type: B-17G
Serial number: 43-38059
Nickname: None
Plane was at 27,500 feet when it received a direct hit y flak in the Number 2 engine. The plane slid under the formation with the engine on fire. After all the crew did an oxygen check, the wing exploded, and only 5 of 9 crew members were able to exit the plane and deploy parachutes. While in POW camps, German soldiers made contradicting statements that four of the crew who weren’t in the camp were hung by civilians after they bailed out but also that they had died in the crash.
Crew assigned (KIA=4, POW=5)
Pilot, Captain Oscar T. Hanson, KIA; Bemidji, MN
Co-Pilot, 1st Lt Roy C. Keirn, KIA; McKeesport, PA
Navigator, 1st Lt Donald G. Topping, POW; St. Louis, MO
Bombardier, 1st Lt Lindsay I. Lipscomb, POW; Conroe, TX
Radio Operator, TSgt, George H. Simpson, KIA; Wabash, IN
Engineer/Gunner, TSgt Paul A. Shull, POW; Kansas City, MO
Nose Gunner, SSgt Sidney C. Brown, POW; Darien, CT
Tail Gunner, SSgt Joe N. Burton, POW; Athens, GA
Waist Gunner, SSgt Lawrence D. Layton, KIA; Atlanta, GA
From The Norwalk Hour January 4, 1945
Mrs. Charlotte Cohn Brown of Raymond Street, Darien, formerly of this city, received word on December 20 that her husband, Staff Sergeant Sidney C. Brown, son of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Brown of Ridgefield, has been missing in action in a raid over Germany since November 30. An aerial gunner, Sergeant Brown had been in the service since February 10, 1943, and had been awarded the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters. He received his initial training at Miami Beach, Florida, and Denver, Colorado, and had been overseas since last March. Before entering the service, he was employed at Remington Arms Company in Bridgeport.
From The Norwalk Hour January 16, 1945
Slightly hopeful information from another member of the Air Forces regarding Staff Sergeant Sidney C. Brown of Darien reported missing in Germany on November 30, 1944, and has been received by his family, indicating that the crew bailed out and landed safely, but in enemy territory. The information comes from a crew member of a bomber that hovered in the vicinity of Staff Sergeant Brown’s plane. Staff Sergeant Brown is the husband of Charlotte Cohn Brown of Raymond Street, Darien, and they have a two-year-old son. The sergeant’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. William B. Brown of 13 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield. Possessor of the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Staff Sergeant Brown had been overseas since March 1944. He went into the service on February 10, 1943, training at Miami Beach, Florida, and Denver, Colorado. Previously he was employed with the Remington Arms Company in Bridgeport.
From The Norwalk Hour January 29, 1945
Mr. and Mrs. William Brown of Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, have been notified by the International Red Cross that their son, Sergeant Sidney C. Brown, who was reported missing in action over Germany on November 30,m is a prisoner of war somewhere in Germany. Sergeant Brown was a turret gunner on a Liberator and went overseas last March. He has been awarded the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters. His wife is the former Charlotte V. Cohn of Norwalk. They have a two-year-old son.
From The Norwalk Hour May 18, 1945
Sergeant Sidney C. Brown of Raymond Street, Darien, has been liberated from a German prison camp, according to word received by his wife, Mrs. Charlotte Cohn Brown. Sergeant Brown, a gunner in a bomber, was shot down over Germany on November 30, 1944. He wrote his wife that he expected to be home soon.
From The Ridgefield Press June 7, 1945
Staff Sergeant Sidney C. Brown, son of Mr.and Mrs. William M. Brown, is back in the States to recuperate from the European War, during which time he was injured and later captured and imprisoned by the Germans. Brown arrived on Long Island last Saturday from Paris. His mother, his wife, and his sister went to N.Y.City to greet him upon his arrival. They say he looks fine and has gained 15 pounds since being released on April 19. He has suffered several wounds and will be hospitalized for some time at Cushing’s Hospital, South Framingham, Massachusetts. The Air Medal with three oak clusters, three stars, four overseas ribbons, and the Purple Heart have been awarded to Brown. He has been away for 19 months, having been attached to the Eighth Air Force in England. Brown said he was certainly glad to be back home in the “good old U.S.A.” He praised the Red Cross and said without that organization’s help, he might never have come home.
Obituary from genealogybuff.com
Sidney Brown, 83, grandfather of New Milfordite
Sidney C. Brown, 83, of North Port, Florida, and Westbrook, formerly of Danbury, died January 7 at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown. He was the husband of Eileen D. Porter Cohn Brown and the widower of Charlotte Virginia Cohn. Mr. Brown was born on January 15, 1919, in Ridgefield, the son of William M. and Louise Brown. He married Charlotte Cohn on December 7, 1941. He was drafted by the U.S. Army, trained in the Army Air Corps, and flew 23½ missions in the 34th Bomb Group as a gunner. He was shot down twice, first over his own airfield in England and second over the Black Forest in Germany, where he was captured and held in a German prison camp for 13 months. He earned a Purple Heart, four Oak Clusters for successful missions, the Bronze Star, and many other ribbons and medals for service to his country. He was active in a national ex-POW organization. Mr. Brown retired early from the Perkin-Elmer Corporation in 1978 after working on numerous projects, especially the Mercury space capsule flown by Scott Carpenter. He also served on the Civilian Conservation Corps, building roads in Connecticut after World War II. He is survived by a son, Ronald of Venice, Florida; two daughters, Jo Ann of Danbury and Francine DeLelle of Stamford; seven grandchildren, Shelly of Middletown, Delaware, Michael of Venice, Florida, Stephanie Cypher of Waterbury, Meredith McDermott of Danbury, Jason DeLelle of New Milford, Michelle DeLelle of Stamford and Virginia Greenwood of Nokomis, Florida; and three great-grandchildren, Jozlyn, Madison and Blain. Mr. Brown will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery within the next three weeks and be honored at a military ceremony in Washington, D.C. Condolences may be paid to his daughter Jo Ann Brown at 45 Tamarack Avenue, Danbury, CT 06811.
Sergeant Brown is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, Virginia; Section 68, Plot 1037
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