An army life always seemed to run through Clayton Browder’s veins. In Veterans’ Memorial Park in Plant City, six bricks bear the names of his father, mother, uncle and other relatives who served in the military. And recently, his mother, Lisa Browder, proudly purchased a seventh brick with Clayton’s name on it.
“All my family had done it, so I figured I might as well do it also,” Clayton said. “It makes my family proud.”
Browder is about halfway through his five years of active duty service in the U.S. Army, and last week, he returned to U.S. soil after two years in Germany.
Starting Out
Browder graduated from Plant City High School in 2012, and a few months later, found himself stepping off a bus into Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training.
“They call it ‘Fort Lost-in-the-Woods’ because it’s in the middle of nowhere,” Lisa said.
Adjusting to a town even smaller than Plant City was a new experience for Browder, but he was already familiar with the Army lifestyle because of his parents’ military careers. They had done their best to prepare him.
“We tried to do little drills with him before he went in so he’d be prepared,” Lisa said. “Little stuff that’s so easy to learn before you go in.”
Browder excelled in basic training. He was one of just three soldiers from his whole unit who were promoted by graduation.
After nine weeks of basic training, Browder had six months of schooling for his Military Occupational Specialty: 12-T, which is the designation for technical engineers.
Browder returned to Plant City for a while to do hometown recruiting. He visited different schools in the area to tell students about his experience.
“After that, I started the long journey to Germany,” Browder said.
Faraway Places
Browder had never traveled internationally before, except a cruise to Mexico. His first look at Germany when he arrived in February 2013 was a bleak, snow-covered city.
“It was a culture shock because he’s a country boy,” Lisa said.
Browder said the most difficult part was the language. Though his mother was able to take German language classes when she was stationed abroad, funding allotments have changed since then, so Browder was not as fortunate.
There is only one construction battalion in Germany, and it serves the whole continent.
“There’s no point to deploy us because if you take the only construction out of Europe, they can’t build anything else,” Browder said.
Because of the high demand for this kind of work throughout Europe, Browder was sent out for assignments in other countries, such as a temporary project in Latvia. But in addition to contributing to new structures, he got to visit plenty of historical ones, such as the Parthenon, Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace.
“My photo album of him looks like ‘Where’s Waldo.’ He did Italy, Greece, Spain, France, England,” Lisa said.
Halfway There
After two years in Germany, Browder came back to the United States. He will be stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, until July 2017. But first, he enjoyed two weeks on leave, and there was no better place for him to spend it than right at home in Plant City.
His family thought he would be returning on a Wednesday, but he surprised them by arriving the Monday before. He was trying to head off the yard signs and excitement that would welcome him home.
Lisa joked that the surprise was her son’s own loss — she didn’t have time to prepare the sweet tea and chocolate-covered raisins that he loves.
“There’s pros and cons to everything,” Browder said.
When he finishes his service, Browder hopes to go on to a four-year undergraduate program, likely at the University of Florida, and transfer in the credits he has managed to earn during his time in the army.
But until then, Browder will be just a five-hour drive from home, and even closer to some of his friends and family in Gainesville.
“He’ll definitely be putting some miles on that big old truck,” Lisa said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Times & Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Amber Jurgensen by email at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.