COL William Kent Adams

COL William Kent Adams was born in Halifax County, Virginia on 21 May 1917. He was the oldest of the 2 children born to John Herman and Ruth Thompson (Lewellyn) Adams. Called Kent for most of his life, he grew up in Danville, Virginia and lived there most of his life. In the first years of his life the family lived with his paternal grandparents on Grove Street in Danville and his mother supported the family working as a telephone operator. They later moved to 324 Farrar Street which they owned and his father ran a retail grocery. His mother would later run a boarding house. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1940. 

Commissioned as a reserve 2LT in the Field Artillery branch  on 3 Jun 1940 he was called to active duty on 1 Dec 1940. Serving throughout WWII and receiving a Bronze Star medal 1LT Kent was promoted to CPT on 23 Dec 1945. he was married to Dorothy Victoria Roark on 15 Aug 1942. After release from active duty, Kent went to work for Dan River Mills and he would work there for 30-years. Kent was promoted to LTC on 17 Apr 1951.. Kent and Dorothy had a son on 14 Oct 1953.

Dorothy died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage on 22 Aug 1958. Kent was married on 8 May 1959 to Stella Kerns Bailey Adams (no relation). In 1967 COL Adams took command of the reorganized 116th Infantry Regiment then the 2nd Brigade 29th Infantry Division consisting of 2 infantry battalions and 1 armored battalion. When he retired from service on 30 Nov1972 the Brigade was recognized as the best in the division.

COL Adams died in Danville, Virginia on 22 Nov 1995 and rests forever in Highland Burial Park in Danville.

COL Hobart Blauvelt Brown

COL Hobart Blauvelt Brown was born 2 Oct 1884 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He was the first of 7 children born to John Spear and Annie (Blauvelt) Brown. His father worked as a store clerk, teamster, and salesman. Hobart was working as a railroad clerk in 1900 and living with parents at 160 Garside Street in Newark, New Jersey. His mother died at the age of 41 in 1901.

Hobart enlisted in "Essex Troop" a New Jersey militia cavalry unit, as a PVT. He was promoted to CPL in May 1909. At that time he was working as a cashier for the Fireman's Insurance Company.

In 1916 New Jersey provided soldiers to respond to the emergency along the Mexican border and CPT Hobart  was stationed at Camp Funston, at Douglas, Arizona from June through October 1916 and during this time was promoted to MAJ commanding 1st Squadron, Essex troop having expanded to 3 troops of cavalry. He married Mary Elizabeth James in March 1917 and then moved with unit to Sea Girt in July 1917 in preparation for movement to Camp McClellan near Anniston, Alabama.

After arriving at Camp McClellan, the old 1st Squadron was reorganized as the 104th Military Police Battalion at Camp McClellan and MAJ Brown commanded from September 1917 to April 1918 during which time he was promoted to LTC and served as post Provost Marshall. At this time there was a lot of shuttling about of officer and LTC Brown and he briefly served as commander of the 116th Infantry during June 1918 at Camp McClellan. He shipped out to France with the 116th on 15 June 1918 and once there he was re-assigned as Commander of the 114th Infantry which was composed of New Jersey National Guard units that had been reorganized at Camp McClellan. He led the unit during the Meuse-Argonne offensive in October 1918.

After the armistice on 11 Nov 1918 he was again reassigned this time as Deputy Provost Marshall General of American Expeditionary Force in France and served in this position until February 1919. For his service during the war he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. 

Returning to the United States he met his infant daughter for the first time. Shortly thereafter he was appointed Assistant Treasurer of Fireman's Insurance Company in April 1919. Hobart with George H. McCarter applied for and received a charter for American Legion in New Jersey on 24 May 1919 and was elected as the first commander of the New Jersey American Legion. This obviously was an extremely busy time for COL Brown and he refused command of 6th New Jersey Infantry in July 1919, not wanting to continue service.

He was then appointed as treasurer of Fireman's Insurance Company and in 1920, with his family, lived in the home of his mother-in-law 1920 on West 79th Street in New York City. However, military service was a continuing interest and in 1926 he was commanding the 302nd Cavalry Regiment, 61st Cavalry Division. Hobart was elected as Vice President and Secretary of  Insurance Shares Corporation in September 1927. He continued in this work, living with his extended family in New York City until he was called to active duty with his unit on 13 Apr 1941. He was selected to establish a Women's Army Corps training center at Fort Oglethorpe and was commanding that facility effective 1 Jan 1943. Mary died on 29 Apr 1946. He married Helen Bowden on 14 Oct 1947.

COL Brown retired from military on 29 Jun 1948 as a COL of Cavalry. He and Helen moved to 156 Palmetto Road, Clearwater, Florida. COL Brown died on 2 Jun 1955 in Belleair, Florida and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. A granddaughter survives.

Hobart had 2 brothers who also served in the military. John Vincent Brown retired from the United States Air Force as a COL. Perry Terhune Brown retired from the United States Navy as a LtCmdr.

Note: this is published 50-years after his death.