World War II ‘Silver Fox’ still active at 99

On April 11, 1944, Ralph Brown of Lincolnton, N.C., was flying a P-51B Mustang fighter escorting a flight of B-17 bombers in a long-range mission over Nazi Germany.

Just before they reached the target, an ME-109 German fighter dived down from behind and came up under Brown’s plane. The pilot sprayed the P-51 with bullets from the left wing tip into the cockpit, with one bullet striking Brown in the foot.

The left wing fuel tank caught fire and Brown’s plane went into a violent spin. He was able to pry the canopy loose and bail out – only to be captured. He spent 13 months in a German prison camp.

“That plane just sneaked in behind me and shot me,” said Brown, now of Forest Acres, who celebrated his 99th birthday Monday.

But his service in World War II is just one chapter in Brown’s remarkable life: He was a charter pilot into his 70s; drove stock cars until he was nearly 80; and, worked at his son’s auto shop shuttling customers until he retired at 96.

Today, Brown walks without the assistance of a cane or walker. He strolls his Gill Creek neighborhood twice a day for exercise. And this weekend he is heading to Myrtle Beach Speedway to watch his son, R.A. Brown, race in the car they own together.

“He still climbs up a vertical ladder to get on top of the trailer to watch the race,” the younger Brown said. “He says if he doesn’t go the car doesn’t go.”

Exercise is the key to a long life, said Brown, who doesn’t drink, smoke or use foul language. Into his his 70s he entertained his grandchildren by walking on his hands down the beach, 40 or 50 feet at a stretch.

“He could have walked a mile on his hands if he wanted to,” his son said.

Prisoner of war

Brown was born Nov. 16, 1916, while the First World War was still raging. He was one of 12 children raised by George Brown, a teacher and farmer, and his wife Olive, a teacher, homemaker and frequent columnist for the Charlotte Observer newspaper.

Brown joined the Army Air Corps on New Year’s Day less than a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “I just wanted to fly,” he said. He was sworn in at Fort Jackson, completed his flight training and was assigned to the 353rd Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group in Boxsted, England.

After he was shot down on his eighth mission, Brown avoided capture for nearly a week, hiding in the countryside at night, and frequently hopping freight trains to try to reach Allied lines. He was finally captured near the border with Holland, when he admittedly made the mistake of walking in the open during daylight.

He was taken to Stalag Luft No. 1 in Barth, Germany. There he passed time “eating, sleeping, getting a little exercise every day” until the camp was liberated by Russian troops.

“The Germans were scared to death of them so they left,” Brown said.

Although the Russians told Brown to remain in the camp, he disobeyed and walked for two days to reach the Canadian front lines.

Brown doesn’t miss the diet of black bread and turnip soup he lived on while held captive.

“To this day he won’t eat a turnip,” said his daughter Andrea Cooper said. “And he never really talked about it. I didn’t even know he was a prisoner until the early 1960s when I read it in a story in the newspaper.”

‘The best pilot I ever flew with’

Brown remained in the Air Force, flying F-84 and F-86 jets fighters among other aircraft. He retired from Myrtle Beach Air Force Base in 1965 – that’s where his daughter found out about his service via a story in the The Sun News about a reunion of the 354th Fighter Group.

Many World War II pilots who were eligible to retire in the mid-1960s, and took jobs as charter pilots or flight instructors. Brown eventually moved to Columbia and worked as a charter pilot for Midlands Aviation, based at Owens Field.

Jim Hamilton, the firm’s owner and long-time airport manager said Brown rarely mentioned his service in the war. But one day, a group of young pilots was watching the 1960s show “Hogan’s Heroes,” a comedy about Allied pilots held in a German prison camp.

“He walked over to the television and turned it off,” Hamilton said. “He said, ‘I was there and it wasn’t funny.’ They never watched it again.”

For nearly 20 years he piloted charter flights and then corporate aircraft for shopping center developer Joe Edens. Edens called Brown “the best pilot I ever flew with.”

“He never took chances. He was just a heckuva pilot. He’s a one-of-a-kind fellow and I think the world of him. And up until a few years ago he was still racing cars.”

Brown stopped being a commercial pilot at the age of 71.

“He said ‘my reaction time isn’t as quick as it needs to be and I don’t want to put you and your family at risk,’” Edens said. “But I would never have a second thought about putting my family on a plane with Ralph whether I was with them or not.”

‘The original Joe Cool’

Brown would race at Myrtle Beach, Greenville-Pickens Speedway and the old Columbia Speedway. The announcers often would refer to him as “The Silver Fox” because of his hair, which began to go pure white when he was in high school, his daughter said.

“He is the original Joe Cool,” Hamilton said. “He flew planes. He drove race cars. He is always so cool and collected. He is one of the greatest of the Greatest Generation.”

R.A. Brown said he and his father would swap weekends driving their car in competition until the elder Brown was well into his 70s. And Brown would drive their stock car in practice until he was 90.

“He the oldest driver to ever win a feature race at Greenville-Pickens,” the younger Brown said. “He was 64.”

As for his 99th birthday, Brown said he wanted to celebrate by doing “as near nothing as I can get away with.”

But, of course, he was to have dinner with the children and grandchildren on Monday. On Tuesday, he planned visits with former co-workers at Brown Motor Works.

And then there are the races this weekend in Myrtle Beach.

“Dad once told me he had to take a stress test at the doctors – that was right after he had done 30 laps at the track,” R.A. Brown said. “I laughed and said, ‘I think you just had one.’ He was healthy before healthy was cool.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 12:50 PM.