This Military Service Page was created/owned by
A3C Michael Bell (Unit Historian)
to remember
Brown, Leroy F., MSgt.
If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Date of Passing Dec 31, 2009
Location of Interment Riverside National Cemetery (VA) - Riverside, California
Penelope Cavallo of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho has requested the presence of
the Patriot Guard Riders at Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) for a
Memorial Service for her father, Leroy F. Brown. Leroy known to his
close friends as “Brownie” was 100 yrs old at his passing this past
December. He was a widower, his wife having passed the prior March.
Mr. Brown served in the Army Air Corps (AAC) and continued on when it
became the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Brown was an E-7 and served 26yrs. He
was in both WWII and the Korean War. Leroy and his crew were
specifically requested and worked on all of famed fighter pilot Pappy
Boyington’s aircraft in the Pacific during the war. A flyover of P-34
aircraft has also been arranged by the family for this service.
He is survived by his daughters Penelope and Ellen, and his Grandsons
Michael and Travis. All will be attending the Memorial Service. The delay
between Mr. Brown’s passing and his Memorial Service was the result
of having to wait for both Grandson’s current tours in Afghanistan to
be completed so that they could attend their Grandfather’s service as
he was very proud of them both and their service to their country.
Timetable for Monday, 29 March 2010
1400 Stage at Staging Area # 3, Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van
Buren Blvd, Riverside, CA 92518
1415 Mission Briefing
1430 Flag Line and Military Honors
You do not have to be a Veteran or a motorcycle rider to attend this
mission. Everyone is welcome. We encourage those who do not ride to
attend in your car. If this will be your first mission go to the
staging area and you will be briefed there. Dress for motorcycle
riding or dress casually if you are driving a cage (car).
You may monitor this thread by checking the “Email me when someone
replies to this thread“ bug and you will receive an email if there are
any updates. Please ride/drive safely.
Description The military stalemate continued throughout the winter of 1952-1953. Allied Sabrejet pilots, meantime, persisted in destroying MiGs at a decidedly favorable ratio. In December the Communists developed an ambush tactic against F-86 pilots patroling along the Yalu River: MiG pilots would catch the UN aircraft as they ran short of fuel and headed south to return to base. During these engagements, some of the F-84 pilots exhausted their fuel and had IO bail out over Cho-do Island, 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang.
United Nations forces held the island and maintained an air rescue detachment there for such emergencies. To avoid combat while low on fuel, Sabre pilots began to fly home over the Yellow Sea. MiG pilots at this time generally sought the advantages of altitude, speed, position, and numbers before engaging in aerial combat. The UN pilots, on the other hand, relied on their skills to achieve aerial victories, even though they were outnumbered and flying aircraft that did not quite match the flight capabilities of the MiG-15s.
One memorable battle occurred on February l8, 1953, near the Sui-ho Reservoir on the Yalu River, 110 miles north of Pyongyang; 4 F-86Fs attacked 48 MiGs, shot down 2, and caused 2 others to crash while taking evasive action. All 4 U.S. aircraft returned safely to their base. While the Fifth Air Force maintained air superiority over North Korea during daylight hours, the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command on nighttime missions ran afoul of increasingly effective Communist interceptors. The aging B- 29s relied on darkness and electronic jamming for protection from both interceptors and antiaircraft gunfire, but the Communists used spotter aircraft and searchlights to reveal bombers to enemy gun crews and fighter-interceptor pilots.
As B-29 losses mounted in late 1952, the Bomber Command compressed bomber formations to shorten the time over targets and increase the effectiveness of electronic countermeasures. The Fifth Air Force joined the Navy and Marines to provide fighter escorts to intercept enemy aircraft before they could attack the B-29s. Bomber Command also restricted.missions along the Yalu to cloudy, dark nights because on clear nights contrails gave away the bombers' positions. FEAF lost no more B-29s after January 1953, although it continued its missions against industrial targets. On March 5 the B-29s penetrated deep into enemy territory to bomb a target at Chongjin in northeastern Korea, only 63 miles from the Soviet border. While Bomber Command struck industrial targets throughout North Korea during the winter of 1952-1953, the Fifth Air Force cooperated with the U.S. Navy's airmen in attacks on supplies, equipment, and troops near the from fines.
In December 1952 the Eighth Army moved its bombline from 10,000 to 3,000 meters from the front lines, enabling Fifth Air Force and naval fighter-bombers to target areas closer to American positions. Beyond the front lines, the Fifth Air Force focused on destroying railroads and bridges, allowing B-26s to bomb stalled vehicles. In January 1953 the Fifth Air Force attempted to cut the 5 railroad bridges over the Chongchon Estoary near Sinanju, 40 miles north of Pyongyang. Expecting trains to back up in marshaling yards at Sinanju, Bomber Command sent B-29s at night to bomb them, but these operations hindered enemy transportation only briefly.
As the ground thawed in the spring, however, the Communist forces had greater difficulty moving supplies and reinforcements in the face of the Fifth Air Force's relentless attacks on transportation. At the end of March 1953, the Chinese Communist government indicated its willingness to exchange injured and ill prisoners of war and discuss terms for a cease-fire in Korea. On April 20 Communist and United Nations officials began an exchange of POWs, and 6 days later, resumed the sessions at Panmunjom.