Jesse Brown (March 27, 1944 – August 15, 2002) was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps who served as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. Early life Jesse Brown was born on March 27, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, to Lucille Marsh Brown and David Brown. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated with honors from the City Colleges of Chicago. Married to Sylvia Scott Brown, they had two children, N. Scott Brown and Carmen Brown. Military service He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1963, and served as a Marine in the Vietnam War, reaching the rank of corporal. He was seriously injured in 1965 near Da Nang when he was shot in the right arm, which was left partially paralyzed. Returning to Chicago, in 1967 Brown became active in the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a service and advocacy organization founded in 1920 to assist disabled veterans. He began taking classes at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Moving to the DAV's national office in Washington, D.C., he began taking classes at The Catholic University of America. Veterans service DAV In 1967, Brown joined the staff of the Disabled American Veterans. He served in various supervisory roles with the DAV in the 1970s and 1980s: 1973 — supervisor of National Service Office in Washington, D.C. 1976 — supervisor of National Appeals Office 1981 — Chief of Claims, National Service and Legislative Headquarters 1983 — Deputy National Service Director In 1988, Brown became the DAV's first African-American executive director, serving until 1993. Secretary of Veterans Affairs In January 1993, Brown was selected by President Bill Clinton to the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving until July 1997. He was the first African American to hold that post. He is also the first former enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces named Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. During his tenure, Brown expanded the services offered to female veterans, homeless veterans, and veterans who were ill due to chemical exposures in Vietnam or the Gulf War. After he resigned as secretary, Brown founded a consulting firm, Brown and Associates. Disabled veterans' memorial Brown was one of three people who provided the impetus for the creation of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, a national memorial in Washington, D.C., which honors disabled veterans. In 1998, philanthropist Lois Pope