Henry “Leo” Brown, who was killed in a car wreck on Mountain Creek Road on Sunday.
Mary Bea’ Brown, Henry ‘Leo’ Brown, and Pastor Dwight Martin during a service honoring World War II veterans at Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday. About three hours after the photo was taken, Leo Brown was killed in a car wreck on Mountain Creek Road. Mary Brown remains in critical condition at Erlanger hospital.On Sunday morning, 84-year-old Henry “Leo” Brown walked to the front of Calvary Baptist Church and was — for only the second time of his life — publicly honored for his service in World War II.
Brown, a U.S. Navy seaman, was one of a handful of veterans recognized during a ceremony at the Red Bank church.
“He shook my hand afterward and had tears in his eyes,” said Charles Clemons, another veteran honored at the ceremony. “He was very touched by the gratitude.”
But just hours after receiving the accolades, Brown was killed in a head-on crash.
After a lunch at the church, Brown’s son helped his father and mother, Mary “Bea” Brown, into their small Toyota sedan. The couple was heading home when 23-year-old Caitlin Davis, driving a Ford F-250 pickup, swerved over the center line on Mountain Creek Road and struck the Browns’ car head-on, said Chattanooga police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary.