Major General Donald D. Brown is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.
Brown was born in 1931 in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in Canada before leaving to come to the United States for his undergraduate education. Leaving one big city and going to another, Brown attended Columbia University and participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, eventually earning his BA in 1955 and receiving a commission in the United States Air Force. Brown’s first mission in 1956 was flying C-118s over the North Atlantic from McGuire Air Force Base, NJ with the 18th Air Transport Squadron. Brown really enjoyed this assignment, flying the C-118s for six years before becoming a flight instructor at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma in 1964. Before returning to the Air Force, Brown attended Syracuse University’s School of Management, where he received a Master’s in Business Administration in 1965.
Brown’s career as a flight pilot in New Jersey and Oklahoma took him to distant places he’d heard about as a child in Canada. He was assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam from 1966-1968 as the assistant base supply officer, eventually becoming the base supply officer. His travels also took him to Vietnam, where he served from 1968-1969 as the squadron chief for the 315th Special Operations Wing, based out of Phan Rang Air Base in southern Vietnam. Brown’s successes in Vietnam and Guam, in addition to his time in Oklahoma and his return to McGuire as the commander of the 30th Military Airlift Squadron, led to his appointment to the Military Airlift Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois in 1973. While in Illinois, Brown was director of logistics from 1973-1975, and later the assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics from 1975-1976.
As Brown continued to fly, his career continued to climb as well! In 1977 Brown was assigned as the vice commander of the 62nd Military Airlift Wing out of McCord Air Force Base in Washington, a post which he held until 1979 when he was transferred to Scott Air Force Base, where he eventually became the deputy chief of staff for plans in 1980. Under his tenure at Military Airlift Command, Brown was responsible for all long-range planning for the command, which consisted of over 92,000 personnel at more than 300 locations in 24 countries. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Brown was promoted to deputy chief of staff for operations at Military Airlift Command, responsible for all flying operations worldwide and assumed that position in 1984! Missions under his command include Operation Just Cause in Panama at Christmas, 1989 and airlifting personnel to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in 1990.
Brown’s last assignment was as the Commander of the 22nd Air Force, Military Airlift Command, stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California from 1984 to his retirement in 1987. The 22nd Air Force’s missions have a wide geographic scope, from the Mississippi River to Eastern Africa and from the Arctic Ocean to Antarctica. He was responsible for over 20,000 personnel who perform airlift missions around the world. Brown has also won many awards and commendations from the Air Force, such as the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf clusters, and the Bronze Star Medal. His 146 combat missions in Vietnam were recognized with the Republic of Vietnam’s Gallantry Cross with palms. Brown was inducted into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor awarded within the US Air Force, in 1987.
Currently, Brown resides in Tacoma, Washington, where he is on the Board of Directors for the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra.
Major General Donald D. Brown is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.