WASHINGTON, DC —In a ceremony today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) presented the Bronze Star Medal to Lieutenant Colonel Curtis Brown and Captain Robert Ahlers, both members of the Ohio National Guard who were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004 to 2005. Brown’s office worked with the Ohio National Guard to secure Lt. Col. Brown’s Bronze Star Medal and continues to work with the Guard to secure medals that other soldiers in the unit have earned.
“Our veterans don’t often speak about their service. But through these medals and these ceremonies, we learn their stories,” said Brown. “As the only Ohioan to serve a full term on the Senate Veterans’ Committee, and the son of a WWII veteran, it’s one of my greatest honors in this job to be able to award veterans the medals they have earned.”
Lt. Col. Brown commanded Akron’s 1484th Transportation Company from December 2001 to May 2005, including a 15-month deployment to Iraq. Capt. Ahlers joined the Ohio National Guard in 2001 and served for 15 months in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province in 2004. He now serves as an Army Reservist.
Awarded for meritorious acts of heroism or service in a combat zone, the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest individual military award given to members of the United States Armed Forces.
Ohio veterans and the family members of deceased veterans may request military records and medals by contacting Senator Brown’s Cleveland office at (216) 522-7272 or by visiting the “Constituent Services” section of Brown’s website at brown.senate.gov.
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