Harold E. Brown, Jr.

Remember Our Heroes

Harold E. Brown Jr., 37, the son of the Bolton Massachusetts' public works director, was among the seven Americans killed in a suicide bombing on Wednesday at a military base in Afghanistan. The attack occurred at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province. Mr. Brown lived in Fairfax Station, Va., with his wife and three young children. He was working for the State Department.

Standing in front of the family home on Harvard Road, Barbara Brown said the world should know what kind of man her son, Harold E. Brown Jr., was: an honorable, courageous, dedicated family man who loved his life and country. “We were always so very proud of him,” Mrs. Brown said.

“The world lost a good man,” Mrs. Brown said. “He often said, ‘Mom, my most important thing is God, then family, then my country.' ”

Mr. Brown left for Afghanistan in April, and was supposed to be there for a year, according to his mother. She said the last time she saw him was in November when he was on a three-week leave.

Mrs. Brown said the family learned the sad news Wednesday. She was at Walmart shopping for dog food with one of her daughters, when her husband, Harold E. Brown Sr., called around 2 p.m. and told them to come home. Her husband had already called her other daughter. Their son was the youngest of their three children, and the father of three children, Paul, 12, Lena, 10, and Claire, 2.

Mrs. Brown said she knew something had happened to either her son or daughters. She knew her daughters were OK, so she called her daughter-in-law, Janet Brown, and was told, “Harold's never coming home.”

Harold Jr. grew up in town, and graduated from Nashoba Regional High School in 1990. While he was a student, he signed up for the Army Reserves, and began his training in the summer. He attended Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner for two years and earned an associate's degree.

“He did excellent there,” Mrs. Brown said, and earned a scholarship to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he met Janet. They were married in October 1994. She is originally from Vermont.

After graduation, Mrs. Brown said her son attended officer candidate school and then moved to Sierra Vista, Ariz., for four years, where he did intelligence training. Her son also worked for a private company for a while, and lived in Clinton. Her son and his wife also lived in England for 2-1/2 years when their kids were very young.

“He was a people person,” Mrs. Brown said. “He really enjoyed life.”

Mr. Brown's father, Harold Sr., stopped by the town public works garage yesterday to make sure his crews were ready for the coming snowstorms. The first flurries were falling as the distraught father took a moment to reflect on his son and his overseas service. He said Harold Jr. served in Bosnia, was in Iraq three times and Afghanistan.

“If there ever was an American, he was it,” the elder Mr. Brown said. “He did an awful lot in a short life.”

Mrs. Brown said her son would be returned to Virginia in four or five days, and then to Bolton for burial in the family plot, “Next to his grandmother he loved so dearly.”

“His wishes were if something ever happened to him,” his mother said, “he wanted to come home to Bolton.”

News of the death spread through the small town, and tear-stained faces were evident around town. The Browns are a well-known and loved family in Bolton. A stream of police cruisers from town, and other towns, kept a close watch on the house throughout the morning. The flag outside the Bolton police station was at half staff.

Police Chief Vincent C. Alfano said he works closely with Mr. Brown Sr., because both are town department heads. He called the family “a key link to the chain of the community” because the family has given so much to the town. Mrs. Brown served as a police officer from 1979 until 2004, and Mr. Brown Sr. has served as a volunteer police officer and volunteer firefighter. Both were volunteers on the town's ambulance when it first started up. Mr. Brown Sr. has been DPW director since 1992.

“This is a terrible, terrible tragedy,” Chief Alfano said. He said Afghanistan came to Bolton, and it is not a pleasant experience. “People should know what a patriot Harold was. Not just the family, but the whole community is grieving. We're all very, very proud of him, but also very sad. We're doing the best we can do as a community to support the family.”

“Harold (Jr.) was always sort of perfect looking — always spit and polished. He was an easygoing guy and a real gentleman,” Chief Alfano said. “We would talk pistol shooting … His dad was just so proud of him. You could see Harold (Sr.) beaming when Harold (Jr.) was around.”

Mrs. Brown said everything in town used to be operated by volunteers. “You did everything because you grew up wanting to help others.”

Selectman Curtis Plante, a self-described “townie” himself, said, “The pride that shined through Hal and Barbara's eyes when they talked about their son” was unforgettable. “The sacrifices he made … there's no words to describe.”

Mr. Plante said Harold Brown Jr. was eloquent and articulate and would often send letters to the editor of local papers, sometimes spoke to schoolchildren, and spoke at a Memorial Day ceremony one year. “We all knew him through his words. He was a true gentleman.”

Mrs. Brown said her son loved to travel, and he traveled to Germany, Austria and Switzerland in eighth grade through a school trip, and to Italy, France and Spain through a high school trip. Mrs. Brown accompanied as a chaperone.

“Mom, it's your fault I'm a wanderer,” Mrs. Brown recalled her son saying. “Of course he said it with a smile on his face.”

Harold Jr. was unable to talk about specifics in his job, but told his mother that in the beginning, he was unsure if Americans in Afghanistan were making a difference, but at some point, thought the tide had turned.

“I think there's two steps forward — one back — over there,” Mrs. Brown said. “But at least it's forward (progress).”

When asked if she supported the war in Afghanistan, Mrs. Brown responded, “Do we want it (terrorism) here in our country? If we don't fight terrorism — it will be here in our country.”

When asked what the people could do to help, Mrs. Brown said, “The biggest thing we're asking for is that everyone say prayers for his wife and children.”

In addition to his parents, Brown leaves behind his wife of 16 years, Janet, whom he met at George Washington University, and three children: Paul, 12, Lena, 10 and Claire, who will turn 3 in April. Brown also leaves behind two sisters, Regina Brown of Clinton, Paula Rich of Bolton and two nieces, Elizabeth, 16 and Britney, 21.