| Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 10 Sep 2003.
Robert J. "Bob" Whaley obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 8 Nov 2010.
POW Brown was ‘protected by God’
by STAN VOIT The Mountain Press
Brown holds a framed collection of his military medals and citations. Now 85, he lives in Gatlinburg with his wife Frances.
Freeland Brown in uniform in September 1945, five months after he was freed from a German POW camp.
GATLINBURG — He was 18 years old, without a high school diploma. The war had started and by 1943 Freeland Brown knew where he should be.
The draft took care of it. He entered the military that year. Two years later he emerged, having literally dodged bullets and escaped close calls. And having survived four months in a German prisoner of war camp that saw his weight drop from 180 to 80 pounds.
These days Freeland Brown, known as Dood by his friends and family, lives on Roaring Fork Road less than four miles from where he was raised. He reminisces willingly about World War II and sometimes speaks to veterans groups and school classes. He survived extreme difficulties and circumstances, and he knows why.
“To me, Jesus Christ is all of it,” he said. “Things happened over there that had to be because I was protected by God. I knew Jesus Christ before I went over there, so I was never scared.”
His mother died when Brown was an infant. His grandfather, Sherman Clabough, raised him.
When he entered the military he at first joined the Navy, but later transferred to the Army.
After 14 weeks of basic training, he was shipped to North Africa, where allies had already taken control. An attack of appendicitis caused him to miss three trips out of Africa, but when he recovered it was on to Europe, where things got hairy. And the close calls began.
He was stationed in France with the 143rd Infantry, 36th Division, the so-called Texas Division. It was under the command of Gen. George Patton.
A fellow soldier stepped on a landmine, sending shrapnel into Brown’s body. He still has a piece of metal in his lip, which he is glad to show a visitor. A mortar attack sent fragments into his body a second time. He survived that as well, but was out of commission for two months.
“I knew I was protected by Jesus Christ,” he says.
One day he was part of a scout unit sent over a nearby hill. A soldier near him was shot in the leg.
“I was protected by a persimmon tree,” he said. “I fell right where I was. I was shot through my canteen. I am sure Jesus Christ protected me. He (the German soldier) had a good shot but didn’t hit me.”
In December 1944 a commanding officer approached Brown, instantly promoted him from private first class to sergeant, and sent him to lead a platoon to take on a German squadron nearby. With about a hundred men under him, he led the attack. They were outnumbered and overwhelmed.
“We surrendered after two days of fighting,” Brown recalled. “We had no choice.”
The Americans were taken by train to a nearby enemy camp, then ordered to start walking. They covered around 300 miles, including a walk by Dachau, one of the Germans’ concentration camps.
“We were outside, but you could smell it,” Brown said of Dachau.
When they reached their destination the Americans were told to line up and empty their pockets.
“I had a little Bible given to me in Sevierville,” Brown said. “I opened it so the German could see what it was. He looked at it, then handed it back to me. I put it back in my pocket.”
During their seven months of captivity the men were worked hard and fed little. They were pestered by fleas and lice. But they persevered. Brown had lost 100 pounds when Patton’s army liberated the camp in April 1945.
Brown came back to East Tennessee and sought help at the VA Medical Center near Johnson City.
“I was told I didn’t quality for VA services,” he said.
For 36 years he was denied medical benefits or counseling, until a law was passed that provided such services to POWs. In the meantime he had nightmares. And when he was sleeping his wife couldn’t touch him because he was would react so strongly.
He and the former Frances Emert have been married since 1948. They have no children.
But he still has that pocket Bible.
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name: Freeland Brown
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1940
Event Place: Pigeon Forge, Civil District 6, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Marital Status: Single
Race (Original): White
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Nephew
Relationship to Head of Household: Nephew
Birthplace: Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated): 1925
Last Place of Residence: Rural, Sevier, Tennessee
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Richard T Clabo Head M 41 Tennessee
Lora Clabo Wife F 38 Tennessee
Ben Clabo Son M 9 Tennessee
Freeland Brown Nephew M 15 Tennessee
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 16 Jun 2015.
July 30, 1925 - June 16, 2015
Resided in Gatlinburg, TN
Freeland "Dood" Brown, of Gatlinburg, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Dood was a member of Roaring Fork Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon. He was also an associate member of Southwest Baptist Church in Ft. Myers, Florida. He was a member of the American Legion Post #202 in Gatlinburg and served in the United States Army and a former POW of World War II. His theme in life was "Christ is the Answer".
He is survived by his wife Frances Brown.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Roaring Fork Baptist Church Building Fund, 231 Church Street, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
The family will receive friends 5-7 PM Thursday with funeral service to follow at 7 PM at Roaring Fork Baptist Church with Rev. Kim McCroskey and Rev. Robert Kasten officiating. Family and friends will meet 10 AM Friday at Smoky Mountain Memory Gardens for entombment. Military honors will be provided by American Legion Post # 104. Online condolences may be made at www.atchleyfuneralhome.com
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Freeland Brown
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 10 Jan 1948
Event Place: Blount, Tennessee, United States
Spouse's Name: Winona Frances Emert
"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," Database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-15208-16567-93?cc=1619127 : accessed 19 June 2015), 004646461 > image 2539 of 3055; county courthouses, Tennessee.
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