David M. Brown
David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy captain and a NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle "Columbia" (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Brown became an astronaut in 1996, but had not served on a space mission prior to the "Columbia" disaster. Brown was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Brown, the 1986 recipient of the Navy Operational Flight Surgeon of the Year award, received numerous decorations including:
The symbol indicates a posthumous award.
Columbia-class cruiser
"Columbia" was recommissioned in 1915 as flagship of the Submarine Flotilla. Following the American entry into World War I in April 1917, "Minneapolis" was recommissioned and both ships served as convoy escorts. In early 1919, with the war over, "Columbia" served in the Atlantic and "Minneapolis" served in the Pacific until both were decommissioned in 1921. Both were sold for scrap in 1921–22.