Harold Brown
Lt. Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Retired), 1943 - 1965

Harold Brown flew with the famed "Tuskegee Airmen" fighter pilot group in World War II. Named after a flight training facility in Tuskegee, AL the Tuskegee Airmen comprised the four squadrons of the Army Air Corps' 332nd fighter pilot group.

In what had been labeled as an "experimental" army program, the men were the first African American fighter pilots to fly combat missions in U.S. history.

Members of the 332nd fighter pilot group encountered numerous political obstacles before being able to participate in combat missions, Brown said. Once allowed to fight, however, the group posted an outstanding record, never losing a single bomber.

"Most of us just fell in love with the airplanes", said Brown of World War II fighter pilots. "Those were the days when if an aircraft flew overhead, everyone looked up to see."

Brown, who spent 23 years in postwar military service, today lives in Columbus, Ohio. There he runs a consulting firm, and also owns an Internet service provider called Net Express. Prior to his latest enterprises, Brown had been vice president of academic affairs at Ohio state university.

Brown who graduated from north High School in Minneapolis, said his love of airplanes dates back to childhood, when he dreamed of being a pilot while building model airplanes reading books like "The Life of a Flying Cadet."

"I read that book so many times, I could practically recite it from memory," Brown said with a chuckle.

Exerpts above from the article:
War veterans sought for city's fourth of July parade
Originally printed in the Edina Sun on July 20, 2001

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