S.C. vet’s trucks help honor others

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By Jarrett E. Brown
Guest Writer

Brandon Brown, a U.S. Army veteran from Sumter, S.C., has combined his passion for woodworking and his experience in the service to craft replica military vehicles that evoke a sense of nostalgia for those who come to own them.

More importantly, the wooden trucks that Brown creates have helped him readjust to civilian life and create lasting connections with other veterans.

During his time in the Army, Brown spent a tour in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and attained the rank of Specialist while serving as a mechanic and Shop Foreman at the motorpool of a base in Kuwait.

The time that Brown spent working on military vehicles gave him a deep base of knowledge about the Humvees and trucks that transport our troops during training and battle.

“I got to know the vehicles like the back of my hand,” Brown said. “When I do a build, I Google a photo of the truck and use what I remember to fill in the finer details.”

His first creations elicited positive responses from his military friends. That gave him the confidence to share the trucks with his former commanders and a wider range of veterans.

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“One of my buddies from Afghanistan asked me for some Humvees for presents for the sponsors of the veterans association at his college in Arizona,” Brown said. “They were so happy about with them and showed the trucks off to everybody.”

Later, one of the sponsors commissioned a vehicle to be built as a gift for a World War II veteran’s birthday.

“It was great to be able to do that because there is nothing that I enjoy more than honoring vets,” Brown said.

Brown’s work of creating pieces of nostalgia for other veterans has helped him in his own transition back to civilian life. As a result of an accident with a vehicle being driven by a Kuwati civilian, Brown suffers from severe back pain and an inability to perform tasks that he once considered routine. On top of that, he has had to deal with a persistent skin rash that force him to stay away from certain irritants that exacerbate the problem.

“This thing has been good for me,” Brown said. “It’s therapeutic for me because it helps me get my mind off things and gives me something good to focus on. And, it keeps me inside and keeps me with income.”

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For more information, please contact Brandon Brown or visit his Facebook or Instagram pages: Facebook: Trucks4VetSoldiers and Instagram: Trucks_For-Vets_And_Soldiers

Email: Bbrownbrick1@hotmail.com Phone: 803-305-3702

Author: Jana Pye

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