In Memory

William Browning - Class Of 1962 VIEW PROFILE

Deceased Classmate: William E Browning
Obituary Link: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/300032/WILLIAM-E-BROWNING
Date Of Birth: Nov-2-1943
Date Deceased: Aug-1-1968
Age at Death: 24
Cause of Death: Viet Nam
Classmate City: Lutz
Classmate State: FL
Classmate Country: USA
Was a Veteran: Yes Army
Survived By:

As of Memorial Day 2017, there are 58,318 names on the VietNam War Memorial. These are names of military personnel who were wounded in Vietnam between 1957 and 1975 and ultimately died of their wounds. One of our outstanding classmates , Bill Browning, gave his life for our nation on August 1, 1968. This past August 1, 2018 marked 50 years ago that Bill paid the ultimate price. I want to honor Bill’s memory as a member of CHS Class of 1962. See this link: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/300032/WILLIAM-E-BROWNING Bill's name appears on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. His name appears as William E. Browning, PFC US Army Bill was best known as an outstanding athlete, he excelled in basketball. A Chamberlain Chief who gave it all.

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/300032/WILLIAM-E-BROWNING



 
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05/27/19 08:40 PM #1    

Edmund Abbott (1963)

It's Memorial Day 2019 so let me take a moment to reminice. I saw the "In Memory" section on the website and wanted to leave a message for anyone who may be interested. Bill and I were friends through high school. He was a year ahead of me getting out in 62'. He was an outstanding athlete, tall, strong, and in great shape. We both played basketball, although, he was a lot better than I was. Bill played center and I was a forward. He was tough to handle on the court but a genuinly good natured guy to be around, you'd like Billy. One year he picked me up and we rode to school together. He drove a white/cream colored Ford, a 57', I think. Picking me up was easy because it was on the way, we only lived a mile apart. I helped Bill and Bobby with the paper route a few times but have to admit that getting up at 4:00 AM was not my thing. Also, please remember that in the 50's and 60's Lutz was rural, very rural. So, we both had a horse or two and hogs. I recall helping to collect the stuff the restaurants where tossing away. Mostly vegetables in various states of decay. Hogs eat about anything.

The war: it created so many heroes. About 58,000 I hear. It was all so capricious and seems so far away now. I don't go back and mentally visit there much, but don't want to forget the guys, the heroes. Bill was a one of the them; it's really about them. For me, they are what counted, not the politics; or the strategy; or the draft, but about the guys. Yeah, most of us got back okay, but to many did not.

So, here's to you Billy. A good guy who did what was asked...

Your friend,

Ed


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