Name: Preus, Rolf Brandt (1916-1959)

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Historical Note: Rolf Brandt Preus was born April 5, 1916 in Beloit, Wisconsin to Johan Carl Keyser Preus and Dikka Brandt Preus. After attending Pacific Lutheran Academy and College, he worked as an assayer for Kimberely Gold Mines in Burgdorf, Idaho, 1935-1939. Preus was a pilot, and flew in the US Army Air Transport Command, beginning in 1942. As a pilot, Preus flew over a section of the eastern Himalayas known as "the Hump" 89 times. These flights, which began in Assam, India and landed in Kunming, China, was part of an organized airlift to bring supplies to U.S. Army Air Force units based in China and for supporters of Chiang Kai-Shek. After the war, Preus continued to fly for Kai Shek's China National Aviation Corporation until 1946, when he and two pilot friends crashed in Shanghai. Preus survived but had his left leg amputated in 1947. He then worked in the office of Olson Equipment Co. He passed away on March 27, 1959 from leukemia.

Sources:

Herman Amberg Preus: A Family History, by Johan Carl Keyser Preus (pp.34-35)

"The Hump," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hump

Note Author: Hayley Jackson

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Preus, Rolf Brandt