Brown, Jesse (1944-2002), served as United States secretary of veterans affairs from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to serve in this Cabinet post. A disabled veteran of the Vietnam War (1957-1975), Brown spent his professional career with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) before his appointment as secretary. The DAV helps disabled veterans return to an independent way of living.
Brown enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1963. In 1965, during the Vietnam War, he was wounded while patrolling the Da Nang area of South Vietnam. This injury partly paralyzed his right arm. For being wounded in combat, he earned the Purple Heart medal. Brown joined the Disabled American Veterans in 1967 in Chicago. Beginning in 1973, he held a series of executive posts with the DAV in Washington, D.C. There, he gained experience working with the federal government. From 1989 to 1993, he served as executive director of the DAV’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. Brown was born on March 27, 1944, in Detroit. He died on Aug. 15, 2002.
