US Army Private First-Class, Clossie D. Brown, Company F 2nd Battalion 157th Infantry Regiment 45th Infantry Division has come home. Clossie died on January 21, 1945 near the village of Reipertswiller, France during WWII at the age of 37. Clossie entered the U.S. Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on April 8, 1944. He served in the European Theater. During intense ground combat in the area, he was killed by enemy fire. His remains were not accounted for following the battle, as German units controlled the area. Between 1945 and 1947, French civilians and demin
ing units discovered numerous remains in the hills and forest in the vicinity of Reipertswiller and alerted American graves registration personnel. Beginning in 1946 the American Graves Registration Command, U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. As part of their work, units recovered numerous remains that could not immediately be identified. In June 2021 and August 2022, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains of Unknowns from Lorraine American Cemetery, in France and from Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium for forensic analysis and comparison with PFC Brown, among other unresolved casualties. Identification was made from DNA specimens obtained from maternal cousins of Clossie Brown.
Clossie received the following medals; The Bronze Star Medal, The Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, The World War II Victory Medal, The Combat Infantryman Badge, and Honorable Service Lapel Button.
Clossie was born September 24, 1908 in Kirklin, Ind. the son of Alonso D. & Mary (Shimmel) Brown. He had three siblings, Alvin Dewey Brown, Denzel Louis Brown and Losa Cleo Brown. He married Mildred Irene Cline and they had two children, Barbara Joan (Brown) Heaton and David Lee (Joyce) Brown, two granddaughters, Roslyn R. (Heaton) Clendenning of Kokomo, IN and Annette J. (Brown) Sisson of Story City, IA.
An escorted procession from the Indianapolis Airport will arrive in Frankfort approximately between 5:45-6:15 p.m. Friday, September 20, 2024. We invite the public to line the square in downtown Frankfort in honor of Clossie. A map of the route may be viewed on Goodwin Facebook or our website. Visitation will be from 12 Noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at Goodwin Funeral Home, 200 S. Main St., Frankfort, with the funeral services will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Burial with Military Honors will be in Whiteman Cemetery, Michigantown, Indiana. Following burial, everyone is invited to the Kirklin American Legion, 105 East Madison St., Kirklin, IN 46050 for food and fellowship. Please visit goodwinfuneralhome.com, where you may leave a condolence.