Top Character Strengths

HUMOR - KINDNESS - LEADERSHIP

SFC Zachary M Brown died on May 8, 2022, while in service to this great country.

Character Strength Stories:

Leadership & Kindness - This story was shared with me by one of Zach’s soldiers after his passing:

When I got the call that my father was in the hospital, on his death bed, I immediately passed it up the chain of command. At the time, we were in the field doing mortar exercises.

As soon as Zach got the word about it, he came up to me and said, “Forget your shit, get in the Humvee, we’re getting back to post to get you home!”

We were out of the field in 30 minutes. He told me to “get what I needed to get to my family” and that he “would handle the paperwork.” I was on the road less than an hour after I got the initial call.

After my dad passed, Zach covered for me and gave me extra days off to deal with the passing. When I got back, he invited me over every weekend and we hung out and just talked about the memories we had about our fathers. In many ways, we had similar experiences.

Even though I’m out of the Army, I want to replicate the man he was towards anyone I know who goes through similar struggles. I know it’s cliché to say, but he truly acted as my “Army Dad,” and I know that I am not the only person who he held that role for.

Humor - A friend Zach deployed to Afghanistan with was in a low place recovering from a knee surgery at Fort Lewis. Earlier that year, that soldier was featured in a Cosmopolitan magazine spread about each state's most eligible bachelor, as Mr. Washington. Zach broke into his housing to litter his ceilings with hundreds of cutouts from the magazine. It cheered him up and the joke remains today!

-Submitted by Jessica, Surviving Sister

About Travis Manion Foundation

Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) is a national nonprofit that invests in veterans and families of the fallen to lead and serve in communities. Named in honor of 1stLt Travis Manion, USMC, who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq in 2007, TMF is guided by the five words he said before his second and final deployment, “If Not Me, Then Who….”

Through veteran-led service, youth mentorship, and leadership programs, TMF empowers veterans to find renewed purpose and inspires Americans to honor fallen heroes through service. Explore ways to get involved with TMF. Your support helps ensure that the legacy of our nation’s fallen heroes lives on through continued service and leadership in communities across the country. Consider making a donation to support this mission.