F6Fs from NAS Los AlamitosMiG ShotA. J. SavageTBM-3N - VA-213 off NAS Seattle, WA. 1948
 
Dedicated to the forgotten guys from the forgotten war — who changed history.
 

What is The Brown Shoes Project?

This is the generation the historians forgot to write about. Most of these stories have never been published — stories from the “Forgotten” War and Cold War eras that were just that — forgotten. It is our desire for these great guys and their deeds to have a bit of recognition and to add to or correct the written history of that era. Here are their stories — the early years, the Navy years, the later years.

This generation was in “the golden age” of aviation. The earliest trained in burlap and bailing wire N2S trainers. The last flew supersonic aircraft. Some spanned both eras. Many stayed in Naval Aviation. Others also stayed in aviation — in the Naval Reserve, as airline pilots, test pilots, cropdusters; they flew powerline patrols, forest fire support, commercial and private passengers; some were aircraft company representatives; some simply owned an aircraft for pleasure.

These men are now passing into history — their stories are recorded in these pages.