Each Memorial Day, Americans pay tribute to those who gave their lives in military service to our country. Stories that integrate the history of war, valor, patriotism, and race can be told through the experiences of Black St. Louisans who served on and off the battlefield. By exploring their stories, we can understand how their lives were forever changed as we keep their memory alive.
Commemorate Memorial Day at Soldiers Memorial on Monday, May 27. The program will begin shortly before 10am with music by Fort Leonard Wood’s 399th Army Band’s Double Time Jazz Combo.
From 1965 through 1973, the US fought the Vietnam War on several fronts—ground, air, and sea. The war’s chilling reality resulted in many casualties, and tens of thousands of service members never returned home to their loved ones. Among the 58,000 service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War were two Black St. Louisans, Staff Sergeant Dierother Brown and Private Udell Chambers.
Dierother Brown was born to Mr. and Mrs. A. James Brown on February 29, 1944. He attended Vashon High School, where he played on the basketball team and served on the school’s Red Cross committee. Brown enlisted in the US Army on June 19, 1963. Four years later he began his tour of duty in South Vietnam, serving as an armor intelligence specialist in the 1st Infantry Division, Troop B, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment. Brown sustained multiple wound fragmentation and was killed in action in the Binh Duong region during the TetOffensive on February 1, 1968. His body was recovered and sent home to St. Louis.
Brown was interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in section H, site 234. His name appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, often referred to as “the Wall,” on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Brown was awarded three medals: the Bronze Star Medal, Silver Star Medal, and Purple Heart. Udell Chambers was born to Tommie and Bettie Chambers on February 22, 1948. He lived with his family in Meacham Park and attended Kirkwood High School. A standout baseball player, Chambers was admired for his welcoming personality and skill set. After graduating in 1966, he began his promising baseball career with the Atlanta Braves organization, playing in the minor leagues for two seasons. In his 1967 season with the Lexington (North Carolina) Braves, he hit 12 home runs, stole 28 bases, and had a .325 batting average.
Chambers’s bright future in professional baseball was cut short after he wasdrafted into the army in September 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment. He was killed in action on June 21, 1968, near DaNang, South Vietnam, when hostile rocket fire struck his military base. For his sacrifice, bravery, and heroism, Chambers was awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal. Still beloved by his community, Chambers was inducted into Kirkwood High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown St. Louis is dedicated to commemorating our region’s rich history of military service and sacrifice. In 1979, Soldiers Memorial expanded its Court of Honor to memorialize 214 local service members who died in the Vietnam War. Among the names inscribed on the Vietnam memorial are those of 96 Black service members.
Commemorate Memorial Day at Soldiers Memorial on Monday, May 27. The program will begin shortly before 10am with music by Fort Leonard Wood’s 399th Army Band’s Double Time Jazz Combo. After remarks by Soldiers Memorial director Mark Sundlov and the playing of the national anthem, there will be an invocation by Rev. James Williams, a POW/MIA remembrance service, closing remarks on the Vietnam: At War and At Home exhibit by curator Mikkal Venso, a message from Missouri Historical Society board chair Sandra Moore, a salute to service by Mayor Tishaura Jones, and the laying of wreaths in the Court of Honor. The program, which will last approximately 1 hour, will conclude with a three-volley salute and “Taps.” Afterwards, visitors may pickup yellow carnations to lay at the memorials of their choice. Tours of Soldiers Memorial will be offered, and St. Louis Public Library will present a storybook walk based on My Grandfather’s War by Glyn Harper.
This will also be the final day to visit the Vietnam: At War and At Home exhibit. Soldiers Memorial will be open from 10am to 5pm on Memorial Day.
Visit mohistory.org/events/memorial-day for more information about the Memorial Day Observance at Soldiers Memorial.