(NEXSTAR) – Before he played football at Grambling State in Louisiana or became a clergyman, Arlester Brown served his country in World War II traveling from the beaches of Normandy to the Rhineland, where he was hit with shrapnel.
Now, the Washington D.C., veteran has a message for everyone ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“When we came to the graveyard of Normandy and I saw all these tombs, that’s what I referred to as the Holy Spirit seemed to just fill my body and mind. And I started singing the song, you know, Amazing Grace,” said Brown. That was during his first emotional visit to Normandy American Cemetery in June 2023, and his first time back to Normandy in the 79 years since WWII. “I just felt that God’s grace had allowed me to be alive,” Brown continued.
“Having been in the war and all, you know, a lot of reflection came back at that time,” said Brown. He has one prevailing feeling: gratitude. “I was very thankful that I had been chosen to go back and see where I had been so many years ago. And to think about how many 18- 19-year-old boys, we’re out there in the earth, you know, after coming over, and all it was was really a mixed, mixed feeling,” said Brown.
A native of Louisiana, Reverend Brown was drafted when he was 18 years old. After completing his army training, his company sailed across the Atlantic. “A lot of fright because a lot of water and a lot of gunpower, you know, flying,” he remembered.
After landing in England, they sailed to France. “I recognized very early on that if we did not take up arms against what was occurring at that time, we wouldn’t have America as we have it today. I heard and understood that, and so I was willing to sacrifice my life to do that,” he said.
The 599th Quartermaster Laundry Company landed in Normandy just after the D-Day invasion. American soldiers were thankfully in control of the beaches.
“I’d rather be free than to die, you know, under the hands of nothing,” said Brown.
During World War II, troops were segregated, with African American troops often relegated to labor and service units. Rev. Brown says his treatment in Europe was better than in the U.S., which motivated him.
“We had a mindset when we came back to America that we would do everything we could to become educated and change the system, and we’re still working on that,” he said.
Rev. Brown achieved many goals, including earning a college degree and eventually becoming a pastor.
While scars from his time at war are still with him, he says the scars on his heart are the ones that worry him the most.
“It was so sad to me to see that we have all of this, all because mankind could not get along with itself,” Brown said.
Rev. Brown is passionate about educating kids about the history of D-Day and he has this request for everyone, as we approach the 80th anniversary: “When people think about D-Day, I would like very much for people to say deep down in their soul that we will never have this to happen again.”