Reflecting on the legacy of my father, Gale Brown, is like opening a time capsule of extraordinary human resilience. Born on May 10, 1925, in the now-defunct mining town of Wyndall, West Virginia, my father is a living testament to the indomitable spirit of “The Greatest Generation.” His journey, spanning from the coal mines of his youth to groundbreaking contributions in special education, embodies a narrative of perseverance, service, and transformative societal impact.
My dad’s father, Jim Brown, was a coal miner of exceptional dedication, serving without a single day off for injury or sickness over an astonishing 47 years—a plaque honoring my grandfather for this achievement presently hangs in the West Virginia State Capitol. Following in his father’s footsteps, Dad entered the mines in June 1943 straight out of high school.
World War II dramatically altered the trajectory of Dadʼs life. Although he could have received a deferment due to his essential work in the mines, his commitment to service drove him to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard in November 1943. Stationed on the LST 1148, Dad’s ship was poised to be among the first wave of attack in the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which led to Japan’s surrender, spared Dad from this perilous mission. Instead, Dad volunteered for a hazardous assignment dismantling Japanese radio equipment at Omura Air Base in Nagasaki shortly after the bombing. This assignment exposed him to radiation and sickness that, in five years, left him completely blind.
