Robert Emmett Brown was born on March 1, 1922, in New York. He was the son of Frank N. Brown and Agnes M. Brown. He was married to Mary Joan Moran Brown and enlisted in the service on January 8, 1943. He served in the 784th Bomb Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator of B-24H #41-29364, nicknamed ''Stardust'', during World War II.

On March 27, 1944, B-24H Liberator Stardust, piloted by Robert J. Mogford, was lost in a midair collision while assembling into formation over Norfolk, England. The accident occurred just five days after the 466th Bomb Group began combat operations from RAF Attlebridge on March 22, 1944. That morning, the group had departed on an Eighth Air Force bombing mission targeting German-occupied airfields in southwestern France, including Biarritz. Shortly after takeoff, while the aircraft were assembling into formation, Stardust collided with another B-24H Liberator, serial number 42-52562, piloted by Prosper F. Pinto. Both aircraft were reportedly around tenth in the takeoff sequence and had reached an assembly area approximately ten miles from the airfield when the collision occurred. Poor visibility may have contributed to the accident, although the exact circumstances remain uncertain. Both Liberators were destroyed, with Stardust crashing near Gressenhall, Norfolk, and Pinto's aircraft coming down near North Hoe Green. All twenty crew members aboard the two bombers were killed in the accident.

2Lt Brown is now buried in the Saint Agnes Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, USA.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.historyofwar.org, culturepics.org