Phi Delta Theta - Butler University

E very Indiana Gamma Phi Delta Theta member, in conjunction with many other Phi Delta Theta Chapters across the country, learned the "To College Brothers" poem as part of their pledgeship curriculum. It was a time-honored tradition and a rite of passage we all signed up for in our journey to get initiated and receive our coveted bond number. Yet, as we memorized the poem, we never really had any context to who the author was, except that his name was Hilton U. Brown Jr., an Indiana Gamma member from another era, who was part of the Brown family, who has ties to Butler University's history in gen- eral—and Indiana Gamma's history specifically. The idea of learning about the author and putting a face with the poem was suggested to the undergraduate Chapter, and they bought into the project. So the "To College Brothers" rededication and a portrait reveal of Hilton U. Brown Jr., along with a short biography, was planned as a Homecoming 2018 event. The Chapter was really interested in reconnecting with our accomplished past, and ap- plying some of its lessons learned to remain relevant and successful in Indiana Gamma's future. Yours in the Bond, and enjoy! Hilton U. Brown Jr.'s "To College Brothers" Poem Rededication History Lost and Found Again Page 8 BIRTH: August 9, 1894, in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indi- ana, USA COLLEGE: Butler College, Class of 1919 FRATERNITY: Indi- ana Gamma Chapter of Phi Delta Theta; Initiated February 17, 1915, Bond #325 MILITARY SERVICE: Mexican Border, Pancho Villa Expedition (1915-1916); and France, World War I (1917-1918) MILITARY RANK: Second Lieutenant U.S. Army DEATH: November 3, 1918 (age 24) Hilton U. Brown Jr. was one of three brothers who served in the U.S. Army Artillery during World War I. The brothers were members of Phi Delta Theta at Butler College. Hilton also served as newspaper cor- respondent, poet, and cartoonist. Hilton served his country first along the Mexico border as part of the Pancho Villa Expedition with the Indi- ana National Guard, and then in France during World War I. While stationed along the Mexican border, he penned the poem "To College Brothers" to the Indiana Gamma Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Butler College. The poem has been part of the Indiana Gamma Chap- ter Phikeia curriculum to this day. Hilton was commissioned second lieutenant in First Officers Training School, August 1917, Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was deployed overseas in Sep- tember 1917, assigned to Battery D, 7th Field Artil- lery, 1st Division. Always the dutiful son, Hilton wrote home regularly to his parents, siblings, and friends bestowing the war's patriotic cause and downplaying its terrible bat- tlefront conditions and horrific casualties. In May of 1918, he described his serious injury on the battlefront in a letter to his parents as just a scratch to save them the anxiety when a shell exploded under his horse that put him in the hospital for 90 days. Tragically, on November 3, 1918, Hilton was killed in the Argonne, near the small town of Nouart, France, during the final major battle in the Great War and just eight days before the Armistice went into effect on November 11, 1918. His brother, 2nd Lt. Paul V. Brown, Bond #369, served in Battery C of the same Field Artillery Unit on the Hilton Ultimus "Tuck" Brown Jr. A Short Biography front lines, only a half mile from Hilton's unit on that fateful November day in 1918. Paul heard the tragic news of Hilton Jr.'s death after a lull in the battle and wrote his parents of his brother's death, saying: "He died the way all soldiers would like to die: quickly, while doing his duty, on the far advanced battle-line of a great drive." Posthumously, Hilton Jr. was awarded Croix-de- Guerre for bravery by the General Headquarters of the French Armies of the East, Order No. 14,735, citing: "A very brave officer, animated by a high spirit of sac- rifice, died gloriously while commanding his battery under concentrated enemy fire." 2nd Lt. Hilton U. Brown Jr.'s final internment is the American Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, near the French town of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon. CREDITS: John D. Cooke '62, Indiana Gamma Bond #1070, commissioning portrait of 2nd Lt. Hilton U. Brown Jr. Steve Butterbaugh '62, Indiana Gamma Bond # 1090, artist of "To College Brothers" poem. Robert Lawyer '85, Indiana Alpha Bond #1964, loan of "One of Three Brothers in Artillery" book for his- torical research; a Brown family descendent. A.K. Fielding, historian and artist, 2nd Lt. Hilton U. Brown Jr. portrait.

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