Page 42 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2018- Online Magazine

Veteran Name
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” He pointed out
that “there were still pockets of Japanese
soldiers who didn’t believe the war was over
and had to be rounded up.”
Claude continued as a parachute packer and
managed the PX as he had done in Hawaii.
In the fall of 1945, Brown had accumulated
enough points to be discharged. He was
scheduled to fly out on a plane with other
servicemen but “got bumped off the flight
by someone else.” It’s a good thing he got
bumped as the plane went missing between
Okinawa and Iwo Jima, and everyone on board
was presumed killed. “I lost a lot of friends on
that flight.”
He returned to California in the fall of 1945 and
was discharged from Ft. Sam Houston, Texas
on December 21, 1945. “My wife was very glad
to see me.” Three weeks after his discharge,
Claude opened his own dry-cleaning shop in
Lockney, Texas. He soon added men’s wear,
and it became Brown’s Department store.
After 48 years, he and his wife closed the store.
They were happily married for 66 years until
Wilma’s death in October 2008. They have
two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.
Claude has been a prominent citizen in
Lockney over the years, including a 16-year
stint as the town’s mayor. He belonged to
numerous boards and was recognized for his
many years of service. His daughter Ann likes
to tell people that “Dad can hardly walk, but
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still goes dancing two to three times a week.
The women line up to dance with him!”
It’s been over seven decades since Claude
Brown packed parachutes, but countless
men owe him a thank you. A story has been
circulating on the internet about a fighter
pilot named Capt. Charlie Plumb, who flew
jet fighters off the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S.
Kitty Hawk. After 75 missions, he was shot
down and spent six years as a POW with the
Vietcong. Some years later, he was eating at
a restaurant in Kansas City. Charlie tells how,
“A man walked over to my table, and said,
‘You’re Captain Plumb. You flew jet fighters in
Vietnam. You were on the aircraft carrier Kitty
Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted
into enemy hands and spent six years as a
prisoner of war.’” When Plumb asked, “How
in the world did you know all that?” the man
replied, “Because I packed your parachute.”
That impacted Plumb, and he continues to
tell the story, so that all of us will remember
to appreciate the people who do the things
necessary to make us successful – the people
who “pack our parachutes”.
Claude’s daughter Ann accompanied
him on the 2013 Honor Flight. He was
honored to help lay a wreath at the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington
National Cemetery.