Local man elected national AMVETS commander

Brown has been host of a radio talk show on
veterans issues for 25 years.

STAFF/WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON — Recruiting younger veterans and continuing to fight for mandatory funding for veterans’ health care and other improvements in the veterans benefit system are major goals of incoming AMVETS National Commander John P. “J.P.” Brown III.

“We can strengthen our organization by more aggressively recruiting military veterans in the 20 to 40 age group,” said Brown, a four-year Navy veteran from Youngstown.

Brown, a Vietnam veteran, was elected AMVETS national commander on Saturday in Greensboro, N.C., during the organization’s 63rd annual convention. He will begin serving a one-year term Sept. 1.

AMVETS is a veterans service organization that includes all branches of the military, including the National Guard and Reserve, and has about 200,000 members.

“I really never thought that I’d become national commander. I was quite content to be the Ohio commander, and felt we accomplished some things during that time,” Brown said.

Work with Ohio AMVETS

While Ohio commander, he worked with the VA to establish more community clinics and comprehensive AMVETS Career Centers. There are two centers in the area, located at Post 290 in Vienna and Post 45 in Salem.

Brown will be moving to the Washington, D.C., area for the time he is national commander, an office which he said will involve a lot of traveling in-country and overseas.

As national commander, Brown said he will be responsible for an annual budget of about $3.9 million, none of which comes from tax dollars.

He said AMVETS’ work primarily involves community service activities and legislative advocacy on behalf of veterans, and that last year AMVETS service officers helped veterans recover more than $11 million worth of earned education, health care and disability benefits.

Brown completed two tours on river boats in Vietnam as well as service on the USS Saratoga. He received several awards and citations for his service, including a Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, a National Defense Service Medal, a Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and a Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon.

Other accomplishments

Brown worked for Ameritech Corp. for 31 years in various customer service capacities, including through the company’s merger with SBC Inc. He has also spent the past 25 years working as a talk show host specializing in veterans’ issues for several Clear Channel radio stations in Youngstown.

Brown has also served in numerous leadership capacities for AMVETS, including national first vice commander, commander of AMVETS’ Department of Ohio, national veterans and voluntary services representative, chairman of AMVETS Department of Ohio ROTC, and Post 44 Commander in Youngstown.

A past chairman of the Mahoning County POW/MIA Program, Brown is currently president of the James H. Parke Memorial Fund Youth Scholarship Board and a member of the Veterans Administration’s VAVS Policy Board.

Brown has three children and seven grandchildren. His wife, retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jan C. Brown, also is active in AMVETS at the state and national levels.

XCONTRIBUTOR: Vindicator Staff Writer William K. Alcorn