World War II veteran sells his Pearl Harbor plane
Comments 2 | Recommend 0
July 22, 2008 - 12:32PM
TOM RISEN Staff Writer
ADELANTO— After a lifetime of flying, a World War II veteran is selling his last and favorite plane — one that saw America’s first civilian casualties at Pearl Harbor.
Built about the same time that Phil Brown, 87, decided to be a pilot after meeting his hero, aviation pioneer Wiley Post, the 1933 Waco UCI is a big part of history.
Flying the Waco, Brown won awards at the Hesperia Air Show and Merced Air Show. Now with his eyesight fading and his back weak after surgery last year, Brown isn’t the pilot he used to be.
“I’m getting old and my flying days are about over,” said Brown. “That plane is a part of history and I want to pass it on to someone else.”
That history is stained with the blood of its first owner, Robert Tyce, who died from Japanese gunfire on Dec. 7, 1941. At the start of that day of infamy, Tyce flew the Waco, escorting two trainee pilots, according to Leean Swanson, Brown’s sales agent.
“A wave of Japanese ‘Zero’ fighters showed up and shot down Tyce’s wingmen,” said Swanson. “Tyce escaped to land the Waco safely at his hangar, but Japanese fighter planes strafed the air strip and killed him.”
Meanwhile, Brown enlisted in the Army Air Corp. in Texas that same day. He spent the next three years in South Pacific combat zones from Guadalcanal to the Philippines, landing on beaches to build air strips or flying observation missions.
“One time we built an air strip in the Philippines so Gen. Douglas MacArthur could land,” said Brown.
Leaving the service hooked on flying, Brown got his commercial pilot’s license. Though he worked as a general contractor, he did some kind of flying work for the rest of his life. After years of success in construction and his private company, Phil Brown Aviation, Brown began collecting airplanes. He has owned a total of 11.
The Waco had gone through a strange journey as well, changing hands after Tyce’s death before winding up dismantled and forgotten in a crate in California. Brown wanted the rare plane and didn’t know its history when he bought it in the 1970’s.
“After I spent two years rebuilding it, I started going through the plane’s logbooks and realized it had come from Pearl Harbor,” said Brown. “After I joined the Waco Classic Aircraft Corporation, it got attention and was used in a few films like ‘The Rocketeer’ and shows like ‘The All-American Hero.’”
Now one of the oldest licensed pilots in California, the adventurous aviator is depressed that he needs to sell his last plane.
“I think there are only three of that model left, so there are several museums interested in it,” said Brown. “It’s depressing to have to sell it, but I’ve loved flying my whole life and I always will.”
Tom Risen may be reached at 951-6232 or at
trisen@vvdailypress.com.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
