Boyd A. Brown was born December 7, 1924 in Augusta, Maine to Clifford Brown (1892-1952) and Dorothy Boyd (1895-1956). His parents were married June 28,1921 in Augusta, Maine . He had a younger brother Leon. His dad was a civil engineer and his mom was a telephone operator. Both were original from Bath, Maine. The 1930 US Census recorded the family lived on Western Ave., Augusta, Maine. Boyd graduated from Cony High School in 1942 and from the New England Aircraft School at Boston. From there he went to the Rome Air Depot in Rome, NY.

He was drafted into the service through Portland, Maine on April 27, 1943. He reported being single and having completed four years of high school. His service number was 31322041. He does his training at places such as Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson,Arizona and the Technical School at Lowry Field, Colorado. He was assigned to the 864th Bomb Squadron, Crew 2760 in March 1944. The 494th Bomb Group was moved to Hawaii in June 1944, then on to Palau in September 1944 entering combat against the Japanese in the Pacific shortly thereafter. December 1, 1944 he is listed on Special Orders 140 from the 494th Bomb Group (H) as a Sgt. and as being promoted to Staff Sgt.

He completed 38 missions as a tail gunner with the 494th, received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters, the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon with four battle stars and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one battle star. After enduring the lasting effects of wartime trauma, Sgt. Brown died November 17, 1945 at Cushing General Hospital, Framingham, Massachusetts. Funeral services were held at the South Parish Congregational Church and internment was at the Forest Grove Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

"864th Bombardment Squadron", Wikipedia entry at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/864th_Bombardment_Squadron accessed on May 20, 2026.

"Augusta Soldier Takes Own Life; Funeral Today", Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, November 19, 1945, pg. 10

Aviation on Barking Sands, Burger, John, Hawaii Range Complex Env. Coord. accessed at https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Portals/79/PMRF_Barking_Sands/Documents/ManaAirfield-BarkingSandsAAFB-BonhamAFB-PMRF-Aviation%20on%20Barking%20Sands(3.1).pdf on May 20, 2026.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115485693/boyd-brown: accessed May 17, 2026), memorial page for Boyd Brown (1924–1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 115485693, citing Forest Grove Cemetery, Augusta, Kennebec County, Maine, USA; Maintained by PAllred (contributor 48048940).

Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1908-1922 Vital Records; Roll Number: 7

National Archives at St. Louis, MO, 63138, Air Force Award Cards [Air Medal]: Brooks, Samuel – Brown, Herschel; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; Series: Award Cards; NAID: 138712254.

National Archives at St. Louis, MO, 63138, Air Force Award Cards [Distinguished Flying Cross]: Brooks, Kenneth – Bryant, Willis;Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; Series: Award Cards; NAID: 133350293.

National Archives at St. Louis, MO, 63138, Morning Reports from various periods of time that included 31322041.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Augusta, Kennebec, Maine; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0003; FHL microfilm: 2340568

Year: 1940; Census Place: Augusta, Kennebec, Maine; Roll: m-t0627-01480; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 6-4

Supporting Documents