David Paul Brown

David Paul Brown, age 84, of Enterprise, AL, passed away Monday, April 3, 2023 at his home. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Thursday, April 6, 2023 at Searcy Funeral Home and Crematory Daleville Chapel with Chaplain (CPT) Nathan Perry officiating. Burial with military honors will follow in Daleville Memorial Gardens with Searcy Funeral Home and Crematory directing. The family will receive friends beginning at 1:00 P.M. until service time. Mr. Brown joined the Army on July 16, 1956 and served until his retirement on September 30, 1978. During this time, he served two tours in Vietnam. First from July 1965 until August 1966, with B Co 227th Aviation Bn., 1st Cavalry Division, An Khe RVN. This was followed by a second tour from July 1969 until June 1970 with A Co 227th Aviation Bn., 1st Cavalry Division, Ly Khe RVN. The awards he received in his career include: Purple Heart (Combat gunshot Wound received 14 October 1965, operation “Shiny Bayonet” in Happy Valley RNV) Air Medal (4 Oak leaf Clusters) Air Medal (4 Oak leaf Clusters) Bronze Star Vietnam Service Medal Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (7 Campaigns) Presidential Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Citation House Broken Award with outhouse cluster On 10 October 1965 operation “Shiny Bayonet” began. The battalion lifted the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry on a combat assault to their objective early on 10 October. This was their first large combat lift of the 1st Cavalry Division unit and was made without difficulty. This lift was Vietnam’s introduction to altitude flexibility, which since proved so valuable in avoiding enemy automatic weapons. On 14 October the 227th extracted the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, which was in contact with the enemy. Viet Cong automatic weapons and small arms fire was intense and the pick-up area was attacked during the loading of the last unit, but the members of the “Pouvoir” battalion completed their mission like veterans. Lt. Colonel Cranford was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his display of heroism during that extraction, which included rescuing the crew of one of the battalion’s helicopters which had been shot down. Nearly half of the aircraft involved in that lift were hit by Viet Cong fire, but there was never any hesitation, every ship except the one that was actually shot down completed the mission. David is preceded in death by his parents Harold and Edith Snyder Brown, a daughter Christine L. Keith, wife Gisela E. Brown, second wife Sue L. Brown and a sister Betty Stasek. Survivors include his three daughters, Jeanie L. Waltrip (Matt), Charles City, VA; Angie R. Carter (Robert), Enterprise, AL; Adela L. Osmond (James), Wicksburg, AL; eight grandchildren, Brittaney Miller, Alex Waltrip, Kaitlyn Carter, Jamie Osmond, Jonathan Osmond and Michael Osmond; five great-grandchildren; sister, Sue Loeper, Powell, OH. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David Paul Brown, please visit our flower store.