Lloyd D. Brown

Lloyd D. Brown (July 28, 1892 – February 17, 1950) was a United States Army Major General who commanded the 28th Infantry Division in World War II.

Early life
Lloyd Davidson Brown was born in Sharon, Georgia on July 28, 1892. He graduated from Augusta’s Academy of Richmond County in 1908, and the University of Georgia in 1912. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta and Phi Beta Kappa, and after graduating was employed as an instructor at Georgia Military Academy.

World War I
In 1917 Brown received his Army commission as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry, and was originally assigned to the 26th Infantry Regiment. During World War I he served in France as commander of Company G, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division.

Post-World War I
Brown’s post-war assignments included Professor of Military Science at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and postings as a company commander and regimental Plans, Operations and Training (S3) staff officer for the 45th Infantry Regiment in the Philippines.

He graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in 1923, the Infantry Advanced Course in 1928, and the Command and General Staff College in 1930.

In the late 1930s he served on the staff of the National Guard Bureau, and was an instructor and advisor for the Illinois National Guard’s 131st Infantry Regiment.

World War II
Brown served on the War Department staff at the start of World War II, and subsequently served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (G3) at Headquarters, Army Ground Forces. During the Army’s wartime expansion he was accused of encouraging regular Army officers to have National Guard senior officers replaced by writing negative performance evaluations on them, enabling regular Army officers to fill these positions and receive promotions and command assignments.

In 1942 he became the 102nd Infantry Division’s Assistant Division Commander as a temporary Brigadier General.

In February 1943 he was promoted to temporary Major General as commander of the 28th Infantry Division, succeeding Omar Bradley, who had been assigned as Dwight Eisenhower’s personal representative in the North African Theater of Operations. Brown led the division during training in England and the subsequent Operation Cobra attacks in Normandy following the D-Day invasion. He served until being relieved in August 1944 over concerns that the division was not progressing rapidly enough against German defenses.

Brown’s performance and subsequent reputation were mixed. XIX Corps commander Charles H. Corlett thought Brown needed a medical leave because he was sick and “rundown.” One of Brown’s battalion commanders thought Brown was not up to the challenge of commanding large units in combat and described him as “frantic.”  Bradley, now commanding the Twelfth United States Army Group, and Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force commander Dwight D. Eisenhower believed Brown was personally brave, but not an inspirational leader, and that his soldiers underperformed as a result. Unlike several others division commanders who were relieved and later received second opportunities to command, in Brown's case Eisenhower recommended to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall that he not be given another command. Marshall concurred.

Brown reverted to his permanent rank of Colonel and served in staff assignments, including Director of Training at the Infantry School, until retiring in 1948. In 1949 he was promoted to Major General on the retired list.

Awards
Brown’s awards included the Silver Star and Legion of Merit, and Lloyd Brown Hall at Fort Benning was named for him.

His home in Washington, Georgia, the Leitner-Norris Home, was built circa 1814. It is still a privately owned residence, and a local historic landmark.

Death and burial
Brown died in Washington, Georgia on February 17, 1950, and was buried at Resthaven Cemetery in Washington.

Family
Lloyd Brown’s first wife was Benita Allen (1895-1925), whom he married in 1919. In 1929 he married Katherine Green Brown (1895-1981). With his first wife he had a son, Allen Davidson Brown (1925-2001).