Bio

Captain Carl F. Brown, Jr. P-51 fighter pilot. Captain Brown (my father) was stationed at Debden AFB with the 8th AF, 334th Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, 65th wing until November of 1944 - QP-Y. During his tenure at Debden Captain Brown flew 72 combat sorties and amassed 3.5 enemy aircraft destroyed. Brown flew his first combat mission as wingman for Colonel Blakeslee. While at Debden he survived a mid-air collision with another pilot from his squadron, Willard "GI" Gillette during takeoff from Debden in extreme fog. The accident was investigated and there was no clear action of either pilot to assign the cause of the accident. Brown and Gillette were not allowed to discuss the accident and it wasn't until 2013 at a 4th FG reunion that they met and spoke about the collision. Each man spoke of the event as if it had occurred only the day before! Brown's military honors include the Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters, The WWII Victory Medal, The American Campaign Medal and the European African/Middle Eastern Medal with six battle stars. Captain Brown was the last Commanding Officer of the 4th and was the Commanding Officer on the Queen Mary as the troops returned to NYC in November of 1945. In May of 2015, Captain Brown was awarded the French Legion Honneur from the French government for heroism in the liberation of France during WWII. After the war, Carl returned to Purdue University to complete his degree in Mechanical Engineering. His engineering career as a Professional Engineer spanned forty years working on various projects and in leadership positions. He holds several patents for highway striping machinery and the creation of the glass bead process which lead to the illumination of highway signs and markings. Carl returned to his hometown of Huntingdon, PA after his graduation from Purdue, married and raised a family of four children. Carl currently resides in Huntingdon.