Brown was born August 19, 1924, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[6] In his autobiography Keep your Airspeed 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.[7]
Brown developed an interest in becoming a pilot in his youth.[8] After graduating from high school, 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.[2] 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.[8]
At 19 years old, on May 23, 1944, Brown graduated from flight school as a 2nd Lieutenant.[2]
During a strafing mission over Germany he encountered a German Messerschmitt Me 262 and pursued it, attempting to shoot it down.[8] In 1945, Brown was flying a P-51C east of Bruck, Austria.[5][9] His flight path took him over anti-aircraft emplacements, where he crashed after shrapnel from a destroyed German cargo train hit his plane.[1][9] He was surrounded by Austrian and German citizens who then attempted to lynch him, before a German constable intervened and took him to a prisoner of war camp for two months.[1][8][9] He was one of 32 of the Tuskegee Airmen to be captured during the war.[8][10]
Korean War and after
During his time in the military Brown flew a P-47N Thunderbolt[11] The P-47N Thunderbolt was primarily used in the Pacific Theatre.[N 1]
Following his retirement from the military, Brown earned a doctorate degree and became vice-president of academic affairs at Columbus State Community College.[13] He retired from academia in 1986.[8] 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.[8]
Personal life and death
Brown died on January 12, 2023, at the age of 98.[1] At the time of his death, he was a resident of Port Clinton, Ohio.[1]
In 2020, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame inducted Brown into its ranks.[11][18][2] The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame also awarded Brown and his wife the "Writers of the Year" award for their book, “Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman.”[2][18]
^ abBrown, Harold H.; Bordner, Marsha S. (2017). Keep Your Airspeed Up. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. pp. 3, 27, 28, 29, 30. ISBN978-0-8173-1958-8. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
^University of Findlay. Findlay Mag. "Tuskegee Tough: Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown Awarded Honorary Doctorate at University of Findlay." Jack Barger ‘01. https://mag.findlay.edu/tuskegee-tough/
^The Tuskegee Airmen trained with the P-40 aircraft. Later the Tuskegee Airmen became known for flying the P-51 aircraft with red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; their P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.[12]
