Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. - a Tuskegee Airman

Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. served as commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, the famed “Tuskegee Airmen”. In 1943 and 1944, Brown attended flying training at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Selfridge Field, and Walterboro Air Base, South Carolina.  Brown flew his first combat mission in August 1944, escorting B-24 bombers over the Ploesti oil fields in Romania.  He completed 68 combat missions flying the P-51 Mustang, escorting B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Germany, Austria, and the Balkans and conducting low altitude strafing missions over enemy airfields and rail yards.  The highlight of his combat career occurred on March 24, 1945, during the 15th Air Force’s longest mission.  While escorting B-17s over Berlin, he became the first 15th Air Force fighter pilot to shoot down a Me 262 jet fighter.