Walt was beginning to think girls were a nuisance—they were silly and just took up one’s time. But that changed suddenly and permanently when he met Peggy Hill during his last year at West Point. Walt married Peggy twenty months later, in June of 1960. They went to live at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She was a Christian and had grown up in a military family. Her father, an Army Colonel, was in charge of Army Space Projects at the Pentagon.
Peggy understood the nature of Army life, and she cheerfully accompanied Walt on the frequent moves. They moved fourteen times in seventeen years. Meeting so many interesting people and experiencing new things more than compensated for the inconveniences of moving so often.
People think of the Army as a place for hard-drinking, loose-living men. But the Browns always found themselves in a wholesome environment, living near other Army families who were friendly and supportive, even if they weren’t Christians. At most bases where they lived, there was a good group of Christians they could fellowship with. Walt found that his policy of never drinking alcoholic beverages was not a hindrance in the Army. It brought him a certain respect, not disdain.