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Eulogy by Harry Crosby
JAMES R. BROWN
Jim Brown was one of the 31 out of
36 original 100th Group navigators who became a casualty. Like most of the
original navigators, he graduated in the Class of 42 - 14 at Mather Field,
and was its top student. His classmates included Howard Bassett, Tim
Cavenaugh, Cal LeFevre and myself of the 100th, as well as Ellis
Scripture, who became Group Navigator of the 95th and Staff Navigator for
General LeMay at 3rd Air Division. It was his wife Torchy whose name
appeared on at least two
100th planes.
Jim
started out as lead navigator for the 349th, on Sammy Barr's crew, but he
was wounded on one of our early missions, (15 Sept 1943 Paris (Renault
Works) and his flying days were over. After the war he became a lawyer; he
and Torchy lived in Minneapolis. Because he was so self-effacing, I know
very little about his civilian life although I considered him one of my
best friends. I do know that his daughter is a nurse, and Jim deeply
appreciated her care during those dark months. Certainly he was one of the
men I admired most, especially when I observed his quiet heroism as he
endured his last long, lingering, painful illness.
For
years, Jim was the 100th's historian, and he accumulated much of the data
which Paul West is using so effectively. When any scholar wanted to do a
study of the 8th AF, he found Jim a valuable source. One reason the 100th
appears so frequently in books about WWII is because of Jim, his industry,
and his selflessness. Jim planned to do a book on the 100th -- and he did
complete an excellent summation of what happened to the 100th's original
crews--but he gave away most of his material to other writers--and he
became their friend. He helped Ed Jablonski and Ian Hawkins. Richard
LeStrange gave him title-page credit for his help. The chapter Martin
Middlebrook wrote about the "wheels-down story," in The Schweinfurt -
Regensburg Mission is largely based on Jim's contributions.
When
Jim dug up positive proof that the 100th's most notorious legend, out
group's part in the wheels - down story, was absolutely false, he was
bemused at the 100th's reaction. He was told many times that he should
shut up about the story; many of the 100th are proud of that myth, and
they do not want it to die.
A
slight breach in Jim's modesty makes, for me, his death all the more
poignant. When I complimented him on how gracefully he ended his tenure as
historian, he smiled slightly. "Don't give me too much credit, I am
looking forward to the story you will write about me when Paul takes
over."
Jim died before Paul officially assumed his position, and he will not get
to read the eulogy I have written. For that I am deeply sorry, because I
wanted him to know how much I admired him.
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