Harold Everett Brown was born in 1917. He resided in Los Angeles County, California prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on April 20, 1943 in Los Angeles, California. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Driver and also as Married. Harold served as a Staff Sergeant & Engineer / Gunner on B-25 #43-3617, 22nd Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group, Medium, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

On May 29, 1945, B-25 #43-3617 took off, with a crew of 7, from Yangkai Airfield, China on a low level strike mission attacking railroads in the vicinity of the coast of Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. They crash landed, possibly due to ground anti-aircraft fiare, in a rice paddy near current day Lam Cau, Vietnam. Witness of this crash noted that 5 crewmen walked out of the plane carrying one other crewmen that was wounded which would mean that 1 crewmen died in the crash. It is also noted on the MACR that Capt. Wirth, S/Sgt. Brown, S/Sgt. Montes, and S/Sgt. Markham were captured and became POW's. It is also possible, based on the MACR for this crash that S/Sgt. Brown either died in the crash itself or possibly soon after the crash of wounds. The rest of the crew all appear to have become POW's of the Japanese. Harold was declared "Missing In Action" in this crash during the war. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until May 30, 1946, 1 year and 1 day after he went missing as was the custom. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China but his surname is inscribed as Brow.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com