The Caste of Warriors

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18796642/

It is said that there are those that are Warriors that do not know that they are Warriors. It should also be noted that many, simply do not recognize a Warrior for what He is.

Ladies, and Gentlemen; Here is a simple fact: “Know a Warrior by His deeds.”

By Hector Gutierrez

Rocky Mountain News

May 22, 2007

If the Army needed someone to write a manual about winning the hearts and minds of children during war, it could have turned to Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown.Brown reached out to children during the war in Iraq, and was good at it, his family said Monday. By nature he loved children. Brown had a son, two daughters, and nephews and nieces who adored him, his family said.

Brown took it upon himself to create his own outreach project, with family members sending him stuffed animals, toys and games that he could hand out to Iraqi youngsters who were devastated by war and may have built some mistrust of American soldiers.

“When he was in Iraq, he asked me to send boxes of stuffed animals so that he could hand them out to the children,” his sister, Debbi Hood, said. “I guess it was a way for soldiers to show the children of Iraq that Americans were safe and good people. They built their trust that way . . . He felt sorry for them.”

Brown, 33, died Friday in Iraq after he was hit by small-arms fire, the Defense Department said.

He was the second soldier with Colorado ties to be killed last Friday.

Sgt. Ryan J. Baum, 27, of Aurora, also died of wounds he suffered from small-arms fire, the department said. Baum was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

In addition to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Brown toured other world hot spots, including Afghanistan, Kuwait and Kosovo.

When he married his wife, Delilah, nearly two years ago, Brown was deployed again to serve in Afghanistan and then two more tours in Iraq. He saw his wife for only about four months during the couple’s nearly two years of marriage.

“You could see by his rank that he was an awesome soldier for only being in the Army for nine years,” his family said in a statement.

“Scott was always so humble about his job and didn’t like to be considered a hero. He said, ‘I am just doing my job for my country and so my family can live in a land of freedom.’ “

Brown grew up in Brookfield, Wis., and was a huge Packers fan, his family said. He graduated from Brookfield Central High School, but moved to Fort Collins, where he lived with his sister for about a year and a half.

His sister remembered that while growing up, he sometimes talked about following in the footsteps of his late father, Vernon Brown, who served in the Korean War. At 24, Scott Brown enlisted.

He was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., later moved to Fort Hood, Texas, then deployed to Kosovo and Kuwait.

He eventually made it into airborne and was assigned with the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Funeral services for Brown are expected to be held in Milwaukee.

In addition to his sister, Brown is survived by his wife, Delilah, son, Taylor (TJ), and stepdaughters, Vicki and Cassie; his mother, Lynne, stepfather, Lory Ferguson; and his brother, Michael.

“Scott would do anything for anybody, especially when it had to do with kids,” his family’s statement read. “His heart was as big as his dedication to his country. He never let us worry about him and always assured us that he would be fine.”

I submit that this man was a Warrior.

Fallen Marines Guard the gates of Heaven. Paratroopers guard the paths to the gates.