WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to name the post office in Hot Springs National Park after a war hero from Garland County who died during Operation Enduring Freedom.
If the legislation passes the Senate and is signed into law, the federal facility, on Central Avenue, will become the Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown United States Post Office.
Brown, a native of Hot Springs, was one of several servicemen killed in action who were eulogized on the House floor. With Memorial Day one week away, lawmakers voted to name several post offices after fallen warriors.
A member of the Navy's SEAL Team Six, Brown died during a firefight on March 17, 2010. He was 36, a husband and father of two. SEAL stands for Sea, Air and Land Teams, a highly trained fighting force.
Battling in Afghanistan's mountainous Kunar Province, Brown charged the enemy, drawing fire away from fellow team members who were pinned down, his colleagues said.
The recipient of a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, Brown posthumously received the Silver Star, which is given for "gallantry in action while engaged in combat against an enemy or while serving in combat with friendly foreign forces."
Brown's mother, Janice Brown, said she hasn't been involved in the effort to pass the post office bill, but she welcomed Monday's vote.
"We think it's wonderful that they want to honor our son and we're very proud of him and very proud of this honor. We never dreamed of anything like this," she said.
But it's important, she said, to remember all of the servicemen who have given their lives.
"He was not the only one that died in this area and we're proud of all of them and we feel for their families also," she said.
The Navy SEAL's story was told in Fearless, a New York Times best-selling book by Eric Blehm.
A 1992 graduate of Lake Hamilton High School and the son of a former School Board member, Brown got hooked on crack cocaine and stole to support his drug habit, earning a criminal record and a stint behind bars. After getting treatment for his addiction and undergoing a religious conversion, he enlisted in the Navy, eventually joining the elite special operations unit.
He served a dozen years, completing multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Wounded several times, he refused to call it quits.
After the fingers of his right hand were severed in a Humvee accident, he learned to shoot with his left hand so that he could continue fighting.
After losing one eye, he learned to rely on the other to help him improve his marksmanship.
Whenever he went into battle, he carried an Arkansas flag with him, friends said, tucking it between his uniform and his body armor. Sometimes he'd wear a glass eye as well, emblazoned with an Arkansas Razorback image.
While battling the Taliban, he also worked to assist Afghani civilians. With the help of the congregation at Hot Springs Baptist Church, he collected 500 pairs of shoes for that nation's children.
After his death, his body was returned to Arkansas. People waving American flags stood along the route of the funeral procession.
Hot Springs residents have done what they can to honor his memory. Officials changed the name of Old Airport Road to Adam Brown Road; friends began an annual Adam Brown 5k Shamrock Run. They erected an 8-foot-tall bronze statue bearing his image. And last month, they reportedly raised $73,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation, donating the money in his name.
Fourth District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Hot Springs Republican, sponsored the bill changing the post office's name. The other three representatives from Arkansas are co-sponsors.
"Adam's story is a story of loyalty and dedication to the American way of life and an inspiring testament to overcoming adversity through faith," Westerman said during a speech on the House floor.
While the post office would be named for Brown, Westerman said, "It is my hope that this piece of legislation would not only serve to honor Chief Petty Officer Brown, but it will also honor all the men and women from Arkansas' 4th Congressional District who have laid down their lives in the defense of the United States of America and of freedom."
Brown's football coach, current Lake Hamilton School District Superintendent Steve Anderson, said in an interview that he hopes Westerman's bill becomes law.
"Adam was always a go-getter, a hard worker and, except for that dark time in his life when he got mixed up with drugs ... he was always somebody to look up to," Anderson said.
He called Brown "a real American patriot."
"He was very proud of the state of Arkansas and proud to be a Navy SEAL. He loved his family, he loved his kids and his wife, and he loved our country and our state," Brown said. "I can't think of a better example of an all-American boy."
Metro on 05/24/2016