Norman Brown

“I never met my real grandfather, Norman Brown. Frank Classey was the real grandfather to me. He was a great guy, an English gentleman with a big bushy mustache, and was a veterinarian for the Biltmore House when they had a dairy farm.”

– Jeff Classey ’88

Norman Brown, remembered by his grandson, Jeff Classey

Tank crew member Norman Brown died during the Juno Beach landing.

Norman Brown was a lieutenant in the Canadian Armored Corps. He was one of the crew in a Duplex Drive Sherman Tank (DD Sherman) that landed at Juno Beach, one of the five areas used during the D-Day Invasion.

Wes Lane, a member of “B” Squadron, was quoted as stating: “There were three tanks in a troop. My troop leader’s tank was hit and Lt. Brown was killed. This was the first tank in our squadron to be knocked out. We saw the gun flash from a nearby bush. We aimed all our tank guns at the location and fired. We knocked out several enemy guns here. On D-Day, we fired at anything we thought might be enemy gun positions.”

One of Brown’s best friends, Francis Classey, also served as a tank lieutenant in North Africa. He made it all the way through North Africa and Italy (attaining the rank of major) then came back to Canada and ended up marrying his friend’s widow (Jeff Classey’s grandmother).