Roscoe C. Brown Jr.

Dr. Roscoe Conkling Brown Jr. (March 9, 1922 – July 2, 2016) was one of the Tuskegee Airmen and a squadron commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group.[1]

For the actor, see Roscoe Lee Browne.
Roscoe Brown
Brown speaks at the dedication of the Tuskegee Airmen Bus Depot of MTA Regional Bus.
Born(1922-03-09)March 9, 1922
Washington, D.C.
DiedJuly 2, 2016(2016-07-02) (aged 94)
Bronx, New York
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchArmy Air Corps
RankCaptain
Unit100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group
ConflictWorld War II
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Career

He was appointed to this position in June 1945, which was after VE Day (May 8, 1945). During combat, he served as a flight leader and operations officer only. He graduated from the Tuskegee Flight School on March 12, 1944, as member of class 44-C-SE[1] and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. During this period, on March 24, 1945, mission to Berlin Captain Brown shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter and several days later, on March 31, a Fw 190 fighter (he is credited as the first 15th Air Force pilot to shoot down a jet).[2][3] He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[4]

(L-R) Tuskegee Airmen Roscoe C. Brown, Marcellus G. Smith, and Benjamin O. Davis
Brown receives the Congressional Gold Medal from President George W. Bush in 2007

Prior to his wartime service, he graduated from Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was valedictorian of the Class of 1943.[5] After the war, Brown resumed his education. His doctoral dissertation at New York University[4] was on exercise physiology.[6]

Brown became a professor at New York University and directed the NYU Institute of Afro-American Affairs (now the Institute of African American Affairs) in 1950.[7] Brown hosted The Soul of Reason, a radio talk show with interviewees which included politicians, professional athletes, medical professionals, and contemporary artists, which aired between 1971 and 1986.[8] Brown also hosted Black Arts (1970–71)[9] and CUNY TV show African American Legends.[7] Brown was President of Bronx Community College from 1977 to 1993 and director for the Center for Education Policy at the City University of New York.[10] Among his many distinguished awards, honors, and recognitions, he was elected into the National Academy of Kinesiology (née American Academy of Physical Education)[11] in 1971 as an Associate Fellow.[12] In 1992, Brown received an honorary doctor of humanics degree from his alma mater, Springfield College.

Personal

Brown was born in Washington, D.C., in 1922.[10][13] His father, Roscoe C. Brown Sr. (1884–1963), was a dentist and an official in the United States Public Health Service[14] who was born as George Brown and had changed his name to honor Roscoe Conkling, a strong supporter of the rights of African Americans during Reconstruction. His mother was the former Vivian Kemp, a teacher.[10]

On March 29, 2007, Brown attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and the other Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service.[15]

He was also a member and past president of the 100 Black Men of America New York Chapter.[16] and professor of Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center. Brown died on July 2, 2016, at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. at the age of 94.[10][17][18] He had resided in Riverdale in his latter years.[19] His ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery on what would have been his 95th birthday, March 9, 2017.[20]

See also

References
  1. Tuskegee University's Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Listing. Retrieved 2012-01-21 Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. - Military Biography
  3. Roscoe Brown, Jr. Biography
  4. "Saying farewell to an American hero: Roscoe Brown Jr". The New York Post. July 5, 2016. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  5. Interview: Dr Roscoe Brown, Tuskegee Airman and Squadron Commander claytonperry.com
  6. Pilot and edicator Roscoe C Brown Keystone College
  7. "Famed Tuskegee Airman and educator, Dr. Roscoe C. Brown Jr. passes at 94". amsterdamnews.com. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  8. "Guide to the Records of the Institute of African American Affairs RG.9.8". dlib.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  9. Heitner, Devorah (2013). Black power TV. Durham. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-8223-5409-3. OCLC 816030807.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. Roberts, Sam (July 7, 2016). "Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., 94, Tuskegee Airman and Political Confidant". New York Times. p. A17. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  11. Cardinal, Bradley J. (2022). "The National Academy of Kinesiology: Its founding, focus, and future". Kinesiology Review. 11 (1): 6–25. doi:10.1123/kr.2021-0064.
  12. The American Academy of Physical Education (1971). "The Academy Welcomes to Associate Fellowship". The Academy Papers. 5: 89.
  13. "Roscoe C. Brown". thehistorymakers.com. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  14. The History Makers Biography of Captain Brown
  15. "WWII black pilots, Tuskegee Airmen, get top civilian honor" William Douglas. McClatchy Newspapers, March 30, 2007.
  16. Roscoe C Brown, Jr Facebook
  17. "Longtime NYC educator, WWII hero, Roscoe Brown dead at 94". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  18. World War II Hero Dr. Roscoe C. Brown Dies at 94 Archived 2016-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Sixty years later, Congress honors Tuskegee Airmen" William Douglas. McClatchy Newspapers, March 15, 2007.
  20. "Brown, Roscoe C". ANCExplorer. U.S. Army. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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