Larry Brown Flagpole Hill

Larry Brown Flagpole Hill. Hero and History. , On April 27, 1942, unto his mother, Nela (1916-91) and his father, Fleming (1911-64) brown, was born and reared in Upshur County, a true American hero, Larry Brown. Mr. Brown attended Buckhannon-Upshur High School, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 where he would proudly serve from 1960 until 1981. As the U.S. involvement in Vietnam escalated, Larry Brown was dispatched to Vietnam for three tours of duty, serving gallantly, primarily as a helicopter crew chief. Mr. Brown became one of our most highly decorated marines, receiving the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with Combat V Medal reflecting combat heroism, and the Good Conduct Badge 21 times in his 21 years of service. After the U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War, Larry Brown served as a drill sergeant at Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina until retiring from the Marine Corps., Larry Brown remained active in his support for veterans' affairs long after his military service concluded. He became one of the most active members of Buckhannon's VFW Post #3663. He has long served as a proud member of our Upshur County Combined Honor Guard celebrating the lives and service of many hundreds of veterans at their funerals here. Mr. Brown has served as Post Commander of VFW Post #3663 since 2011 and has steadfastly been committed to assisting veterans in every way imaginable. Larry Brown was a founder of the "Flags for the Fallen" initiative right here in our Heavener Cemetery which celebrates military service each Memorial Day through the Fourth of July and again during Veterans Day every November 11. Mr. Brown has two children, Jeffrey Brown and Andrea Hull, who have given him three grandchildren and two great grandchildren., Our "flagpole" hill has a rich history. This knoll served as one of the very first, experimental air pick up sites with mail delivery and retrieval service beginning on May 12, 1939 and continuing through June of 1949. In 1928 Dr. Lytle Adams collaborated with Boeing engineers to contrive the system described below by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. This commercial venture was conducted by Adams' company, All American Aviation, with approval of the U.S. government. The primary sponsor of the authorizing, federal legislation was West Virginia's own Jennings Randolph, a pilot and aviation enthusiast, who was then our Congressional Representative. One of the two trial routes was established between Pittsburgh, PA and Huntington, WV, and one of the very first air mail delivery and retrieval spots in the entire United States was right here upon this very site. The perfect plane for this job was the "Stinson Reliant," a tight turning airplane superbly adapted to flying around hills and through valleys., "The Stinson, painted bright red for easy identification, had a long take up boom with a hook and a winch that operated through an opening in the fuselage. Traveling between towns at 110 miles per hour, the Stinsons collected and delivered mail and express packages at each community without landing., "The Stinson flew in and swooped down over the station, first dropping the incoming mail in a cargo container, then flying twenty feet off the ground and lowering its boom between the poles so that the hook engaged the rope. This was connected with the winch, which paid out rope to absorb the shock and then reeled it into the plane. In a few seconds, the plane was out of sight headed for another pick-up. Inside the plane the flight mechanic opened the container and took out several labeled mailbags which he transferred to the appropriate bins., Our community proudly celebrates its rich history while specially recognizing one of its own heroes and the service of all of our military veterans by now hereby renaming this knoll, long known as "flagpole hill" as "VFW Post #3663 - Commander Larry Brown Flagpole Hill."