FRANKLIN—Franklin’s Jeane Brown says her 25-year-old grandson, Bobby Brown, is her hero.

A lance corporal stationed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines, Bobby Brown was credited with saving his fellow soldiers’ lives after following insurgents into a building, where he tossed a hand grenade at them.

Brown paid the price. The Edenton, N.C., man suffered first-degree burns to his face and second-degree burns to his neck and torso. Taken to Germany for treatment, he is expected to be transferred to a hospital in San Antonio, where he will remain for three to four months.

“He was caught on fire and was knocked unconscious,” Jeane Brown said. “At (Marine headquarters in) Quantico, they said he saved a lot of lives.”

The flash from the grenade’s explosion caused Bobby Brown’s burns, according to his 71-year-old grandmother.

Bobby Brown is the son of former Franklin resident Robert “Bobby” Brown and his wife, Linda, of Edenton, N.C. Bobby’s aunt and uncle are Lewis and Renee Brown of Franklin.

A graduate of John A. Holmes High School in Edenton, Bobby Brown dropped out of college four years ago to join the Marines, Jeane Brown said. He had been in Afghanistan for a month.

Jeane Brown also thanked the Daughters of the American Revolution for their efforts.

“They give the military calling cards so they can call home,” she said. “He has talked to his parents every day since the day he was hurt.”