Flying Ace crashes in Friendly Acres

It was April 12th and a young 25 year old army flier from Callendar, Iowa, 2nd Lt. Lowell K. Brueland, had been on a practice flight on a single-seat fighter plane over the bay. Heading west over the San Mateo Bridge from Hayward AFB, his plane suffered engine trouble and he was forced to quickly find somewhere where he could make an emergency landing.  Running out of possibilities he stayed close to the shoreline of the bay aiming for some sort of belly landing, and managed to get himself to Sanders' field (aka Sweeny Ranch airport) just south of Redwood City, which had in earlier days been a private airport.  (Today the Ampex land just north of 2nd Ave. and south of Chestnut in Redwood City).
To his credit, the pilot maneuvered the plane with such skill that no damage was made to any house or car although he skimmed them by inches.  Not only did Brueland survive to tell the tale, but he we went on to become one of  WWII's Flying Aces and the legendary Pioneer Mustang flyer of "Grim Reaper" fame.

April 13, 1943 San Mateo Times

Cutting "a half-mile swath through a field and across three streets, finally coming to rest in a vacant lot, next door to a home on Page street near Fourth avenue." 

"When the plane touched the ground its momentum carried it to the south boundary of the field at Second avenue, where it smashed through a barbed wire fence into the residential area.

"Carrying 30 feet of fence wire and two posts, the plane dug a track across Page street near Third avenue - missing two telephone poles by a few feet, and crossed Fourth avenue into the vacant lot, where the pilot managed to wheel it around.  Had it gone another 100 feet it would have crashed into the side of a house on Page south of Fourth avenue.

"It missed the backyard fence of a home on Fourth avenue by inches, and an automobile parked at the intersection by feet.

"Lieutenant Brueland climbed out uninjured.

"Householders called Sheriff McGrath's office, and Deputies John O'Brien, Paul Jensen, and William Schade formed a guard around the plane until the arrival of soldiers and an army wrecking crew."    

The 354th were at the time a relatively new group, only recently formed in November 1942, based out of Hamilton Field, just north of San Francisco.  Their group leader had anticipated his teams would take on aerial defense of the Pacific Northwest as well as tactical flying over Japan, given the Pearl Harbor surprise of eleven months earlier.  However the group instead found themselves deployed to Europe around November of 1943 to later take part in some of the most famous flying battles over French and German skies leading up to D-Day.

In January of 1943 the 354th were sent to Nevada for gunnery training and by March, two months later, were back in California.  The 355th were based out of the Hayward airodrome, where they specialized in low level flying, and were separate from the main 354th group and other squadrons who were HQ'd at Hamilton Air Field, north of San Francisco . By May, the group had been relocated to Portland, Oregon, for final training and to be joined by many new pilots, but they were all still unsure about whether they were to deal with the Japanese or European theater.  In October they found out:  Taking the train cross-country to New Jersey, the group boarded the "Athlone Castle" liner and were shipped to Liverpool.  By Christmas, the 354th found themselves stationed at Boxted Airfield in Eastern England and with great excitement realized they would be the first to fly the P51 Mustangs.

Lt. Lowell K. Brueland

In a 2006 interview given to Pearce Adams of the Independent Mail newspaper of Anderson, SC, Brueland talks about his role 24 hrs before the D-Day invasion landings of June 6th 1944.

"On June 5, 1944, the paratroopers loaded into gliders and C-47 transport planes. Mr. Brueland was one of 72 P-51 fighter pilots who escorted them into France. The fighters, whose pilots became honorary members of the "Band of Brothers," were in three, 24-plane squadrons, spaced at 9,000, 25,000 and 35,000 feet, he said. Mr. Brueland and his squadron, flying at the 9,000-foot level, were assigned to suppress ground fire. The other squadrons were poised for air combat. The paratroopers were assigned missions behind German lines to protect the invasion that began at dawn on June 6, 1944."  (Source: Independent Mail, Anderson, SC.  Oct 13, 2006)

Brueland's name and actions seem destined for posterity.  There is even archival footage available online of one his combat missions showing him shooting down 2 ME 109 fighters:

           

           

For his valor in combat Brueland was awarded numerous medals.  Notably the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star.  Click here to find out more about his citations.  He managed to stack 12.5 recorded kills (excluding 3 probables and 6 damaged - although sources differ on the stats). And ranks as the 3rd highest ace in the group in terms of victory kills.