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Contact Info
Home Town Little Rock, Pulaski County
Last Address Oakton, Fairfax County, Virginia. Burial: Lakeside Cemetery, Des Arc Prairie County, Arkansas
Date of Passing Aug 14, 2008
Location of Interment Lakeside Cemetery - Camden, Arkansas
Wall/Plot Coordinates Des Arc, Arkansas
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Lieutenant Eldon Walter Brown, Jr., U.S. Navy
Elton Brown was an early jet pilot in the Navy during the Korean War. He is best known as the "other VF-51 pilot" from the USS Valley Forge on a strafing run at an airfield near Pyongyang when two Yak-9's took off; Lt.(jg) Plog blew off its wing with a short burst, scoring the Navy's first aerial victory in Korea. Ens. Eldon W. Brown, Jr., downed the second Yak a few minutes later. Flying Navy F9F-3's, these air-to-air contacts were also a first for American jet aircraft.
Ed Brown flew forty-two combat missions from the USS Valley Forge, squadron VF-51, between July and September 1950.
After leaving the Navy, Ed was an experimental test pilot with Lockheed. He flew the F-104 from 1957 until 1971 and was also the ZELL program test pilot. He later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration before he retired.
Other Memories In 1947, I went to Pensacola, Florida, and flew the SNJ Texan. They also provided twenty-five hours of multi-engine training in the PBY Catalina and SNB Expeditor. Flying big planes was different for me, and today I often talk about it with my older daughter, who is a flight attendant on twin-engined transports for Sky West Airlines.
I went to Jacksonville, Florida, for advanced training in the F4U-4 Corsair. I got my wings in May 1948, and then went back to Pensacola to complete carrier qualification in the Corsiar. Then, I went to San Isidro, California, to instruct in SNB Expeditor trainers. I later spent some time in ferry squadron VR-w flying various airplanes.
