Death of Vietnam War Photographer Roxanna Brown is Costly for SeaTac

Federal guards kept her from doctors, for days... until after she was dead. Something about the story is extremely fishy.

Roxanna Brown was at one point, the youngest credentialed war photographer in Vietnam. This photo is more recent. Courtesy: Fred Leo Brown

(SEATTLE) - A settlement of $880,000 will be paid by the federal government, to the family of Vietnam War Photographer Roxanna Brown, for her death in a federal detention center at Seattle's SeaTac Airport on May 14th 2008.

She was allowed to die without desperately and repeatedly requested medical attention.

She flew from Bangkok to Seattle where she was a scheduled lecturer at an Asian art symposium at the University of Washington.

Roxanna Brown at the time of her death, was the director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum in Bangkok, Thailand. Having spent a good part of her life in SE Asia, she was viewed as a world authority on ancient Southeast Asian ceramics.

It took days, but the federal guards kept her from doctors until after she was dead. Something about the story is extremely fishy.

Federal agents say she was part of wire-fraud indictment out of Los Angeles, involving fine antiquities being moved on the black market.

Fred Brown says that is a load of nonsense, and that anyone who knew Roxanna, knew she didn't steal, had no record of any kind, and frankly didn't need to do anything of the sort as a legitimately accomplished art dealer.

Roxanna Brown in the Vietnam War

Roxanna didn't do things on a small scale. She spent seven years covering the war in Vietnam and when she arrived in country in 1969 after graduating from Columbia University, she was the youngest credentialed reporter there.

She wrote "The Ceramics of South East Asia: Their Dating and Identification," in 1977. It is considered one of the most well-regarded publications for collectors.

Her brother, Fred Leo Brown, is a recognized authority on the Vietnam War.

While his sister covered the stories, he fought in the battles that are now recorded in our history books. Fred designed a school curriculum on the Vietnam War that is used in schools all over the nation.

The lawsuit alleges medical malpractice among other claims. It was filed in 2008 by Roxanna Brown's son, Taweesin Jaime Ngerntongdee.

An autopsy revealed that the 62-year old died from peritonitis, an infection and inflammation of the stomach and intestines that results from a perforated gastric ulcer that is left untreated.

For their part, detention-center officials at SeaTac have confirmed that there was no overnight medical staff on duty. The case went to mediation last month.

The government agreed to pay $880,000 in U.S. taxpayer funds over the death. In exchange, the feds required that all further claims be dismissed.

The wire-fraud allegation stated that Roxanna Brown authorized the use of her electronic signature on fraudulent appraisal forms of art donated to museums for tax write-offs.

To learn a great deal more about Roxanna Brown, please read this article: Why Did the FBI Let Roxanna M. Brown Die? - Tim King Salem-News.com There is a video associated with the story that appears to be offline, but the story itself and the images are intact.

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Special thanks to: Mike Carter and the Seattle Times