Purple Heart Medal for WWII Hero Finally Find a Home

On December 16, 2012, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Department of Texas, Purple Hearts Reunited, Inc., and the Admiral Nimitz Foundation held a joint ceremony at the National Museum of the Pacific War, 310 East Austin St., Fredericksburg, Texas, to honor a military hero who died in WWII and whose Purple Heart medal was subsequently lost or stolen. His Purple Heart medal was donated to the museum by Captain Zachariah Fike, founder of Purple Hearts Reunited.

Lt. Cmdr. Francis Elwood Brown, USN, SN: 0-072342, was killed in action on October 7, 1943, while commanding Submarine USS S-44 (SS-155). The submarine was sunk by a Japanese Destroyer near the Kurile Islands in the
Pacific Theater, killing all 55 hands onboard. LCDR Brown was born on May 22, 1911 in Reno, Nevada and was a graduate of the US Naval Academy. His medal was found and given to an MOPH Chapter in Arizona.

The Admiral Nimitz Foundation, in agreement with the Texas Historical Commission, manages and provides financial support to the National Museum of the Pacific War which, in turn, provides national leadership in
articulating the history and lessons learned from the Pacific-Asiatic Theater of Operations during World War II. It also preserves the legacy of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and the men and women who served in this theater of
operations, and facilitates programs that honor and support all veterans, past and present.