Uncrowned Community Builders

Roscoe Brown, a native of Kendleton, Texas grew up on his family's farm. As a child, he picked cotton and hunted for food. He moved to Buffalo in 1944 to join his sister and her husband. He joined the Marines the next year and was honorably discharged in 1946.

Brown is a member of the famous Montford Point, North Carolina, Marine Corps, a group of 20,000 men selected to serve in the segregated Corps.
Brown was honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor on April 7, 2013 for his service as a Montford Point Marines. Brown received his medal from Congressman Brian Higgins and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz in 2013. Congressman Higgins said " Today, we honor Roscoe Brown, a member of the Montford Point Marines, an elite team of men who bravely signed up to fight abroad for our nation's freedom even while they were being denied equal rights here at home."

He worked at Bethlehem Steel for 33 years and retired in 1982. He then purchased his own business, a laundromat at the orned of North Fillmore and Dewey avenues, which he operated until 2005.