Harold Brown (Tuskegee Airman)
Harold H. Brown (born August 19, 1924) is a retired U.S. Army Air Force officer who served during World War II as a combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Brown's P-51C aircraft was shot down in the European Theatre of World War II and he became a prisoner of war. Early life. Brown was born August 19, 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In his autobiography "Keep your Airpseed Up" Brown says he developed a passion for flying as a teen. Brown claims to have read everything he could  at the local library, about airplanes. He claims that two major influences on his passion for flying were the book "The Life of an Army Corps Cadet: Randolph field, west Point of the Air", and a 1938 movie called The Dawn Patrol. He saved up $35 for flying lessons in a Piper J-3 Cub and at $7 a lesson he ran out of money before completing the program. Brown graduated from high school In June of 1942, at just seventeen years old, he graduated from North High School (Minneapolis). World War II. Brown developed an interest in becoming  a pilot in his youth. After graduating from high school and he applied to the military to become a pilot. He was underweight so he was instructed to gain weight. After gaining weight to reach the 128.75 pound threshold he was accepted to the Tuskegee Institute for flight training. While he had experienced some racial discrimination in Minnesota, Brown was upset by having to abide by Jim Crow segregation practices when off-base in Alabama. He limited his exposure to racism by spending most of his time in local black communities. At 19 years old, on May 23, 1944, Brown  graduated from flight school as a 2nd Lieutenant. During a strafing mission over Germany he encountered a German Messerschmitt Me 262 and pursued it, attempting to shoot it down. Brown was flying a P-51C east of Bruck, Austria. His flight path took him over anti-aircraft emplacements that shot his plane down. He was surrounded by German citizens who then attempted to lynch him, before a German constable intervened and took him to a prisoner of war camp. He was one of 32 of the Tuskegee Airmen to be captured during the war. Korean War and after. During the Korean  War he was stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Tokyo. Brown flew missions in South Korea from Taegu Air Base, Pusan Air Base and Seoul Air Base. Brown retired from the Air Force in 1965 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1965 Brown attended Ohio State University and earned a mathematics degree and a Doctorate in Education. He ultimately held the position of Vice President at Columbus State Community College. Civilian career. Following his retirement from the military, Brown earned a doctorate degree and became vice-president of academic affairs at Columbus State Community College. He retired from academia in  1986. Brown and his wife wrote "Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman", a memoir about his World War II service, and published it in 2017.