Fred Lorenzo Brewer Jr (1921 - 1944)

Born 4 Aug 1921 in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Died 29 Oct 1944 at age 23 in Moggio Udinese, Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

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Biography

Fred Brewer Jr is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army Air Force 100th Fighter Squadron 1943-1944
Tuskegee Airman

Fred Brewer Jr was awarded the Purple Heart.

Fred Brewer Jr is Notable.

Fred Brewer served as a US military pilot during World War II. He was one of the “Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.” The Tuskegee Airmen were known for heroic combat service in support of Allied Forces in the European Theater. They served with the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, both largely Black units of the United States Army Air Forces.

Fred Brewer was born in 1921^[1] in Charlotte, North Carolina to Fred Brewer and Janie Dunlap. ^[2] His father was a bellhop for a local hotel. By 1940, his parents were both employed by a hotel, with his mother working as a elevator operator. Fred was employed as a chemistry lab assistant in a local laboratory. ^[3] From 1938 to 1942, he had been attending Shaw University in Raleigh. After graduating, he was commissioned in the air force in March and entered the army in November of that same year. He served at Fort Leonard Wood, Maryland and Keesler Field, Mississippi, prior to being appointed as an aviation cadet.^[4]

In January of 1944, Fred was a cadet stationed at the Tuskegee Army Air Field^[5] undergoing fighter transition training in March, where he graduated with the highest honors.^[6] In April he had reported for duty at Selfridge Field, Michigan and was assigned to the 553rd Fighter Squadron. He was briefly stationed at Walterboro, South Carolina in May of 1944, before being transferred overseas.^[7] He left for for overseas duty as a pilot in July of 1944 where he would be stationed with the all-African American 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group in the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operation.

On the 29th of October, 1944, Lt Brewer was part of a group that took off from the air base at Ramitelli, Italy. Their purpose was to provide fighter escorts to bombers of the 15th Army Air Force in support of a mission to bomb targets in Germany. During this mission, another fighter pilot noticed that Lt. Brewer's aircraft had pulled too steeply and stalled out. The pilot immediately lost sight of the aircraft. Neither Lt. Brewer nor his plane were ever seen again. He was pronounced Missing in Action in late October of 1944.

In November of 1945, Lt Fred L. Brewer was officially declared dead.^[8] In December of 1945, a memorial service was held for Fred at Ebenezer Baptist Church.^[9] An investigation into a possible identification with an American Unknown buried in a military cemetery was pursued in 1953, but the remains were too insignificant to make an accurate identification at that time.^[10]

In August of 2023, Fred's remains were finally identified by DPAA. ^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ "North Carolina, Department of Archives and History, Index to Vital Records, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7F9K-L26Z : 25 October 2019), Fred L Brewer, 1921; citing Birth, North Carolina, United States, North Carolina State Archives, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 102380337.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X3Q9-FMH : accessed 22 June 2020), Fred L Brewer Jr. in household of Fred L Brewer, Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 7, sheet 7B, line 85, family 192, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1705; FHL microfilm 2,341,439.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW3X-WSK : 30 May 2020), Fred Brewer in household of Fred L Brewer, Ward 2, Charlotte, Township 1 Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-14, sheet 65A, line 20, family 309, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2941.
4. ↑ The Charlotte News, 17 Apr 1944, p. 13
5. ↑ The Charlotte News, 24 Jan 1944, p. 10.
6. ↑ The Charlotte News, 23 Mar 1944, pg 7.
7. ↑ IDPF Fred L Brewer, Jr. O-824828
8. ↑ citation needed.

   Declared Dead: Lieut Fred L. Brewer of Charlotte, who was previously listed as missing in action after his plane, a P-51 bomber escort, went down near Austria on a mission to Regenberg, Germany, has now been declared dead, according to information received last week by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Brewer of 608 South Myers Street. Lieutenant Brewer entered the service in November 1943. After graduating from the Tuskegee Army airfield with highest honors in March 1944, he left for overseas duty as a pilot in July of that year. He was a graduate of Shaw University at Raleigh.

9. ↑ The Charlotte News, 5 Dec 1945, p. 5; "Memorial Service Set for Sunday"
10. ↑ IDPF Lt. Fred L. Brewer, Jr. O-824827, p. 6
11. ↑ The Washington Post, 3 Sept 2023: Remains of Tuskegee pilot who vanished in WWII have been identified.