Don's address is Pvt. Donald E Brink 17079820, Flight D. Sqd. 360 T.S.S. Jefferson Barracks, Mo.
Source: Sioux County Capital Mar. 4, 1943 p 8
Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink has been transferred from Jefferson Barracks, Mo. to this new address: Pvt. Donald E. Brink A.A.F. Air Crew Detachment, Washington University, St. Louis. Mo. They are housed in the 1904 World's Fair buildings, which Don says are very beautiful. They are of Gothic architecture. He called his parents by telephone Sunday to tell them of his new address.
Source: Sioux Center News Apr. 1, 1943 p 10
Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, has been promoted from Private to Aviation Student. His new address is A-S Donald E. Brink, Flt. 1, Sqd. C (342 C.T.D.) Air Crew, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
Source: Sioux Center News May 20, 1943 p 8
Taking Pilot Training--
Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, is now an aviation student taking pilot training at San Antonio, Texas. Donald qualified for pilot training after passing examinations shortly after leaving his last station at St. Louis, Mo. His new address is:
A-S Donald E. Brink 17079820
Sqd. 105, Flt. I, AAFCC, SAACC,
San Antonio, Texas
Source: Sioux Center News Aug. 19, 1943 p 2
San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas: Among cadets now stationed at the Army Air Forces Preflight School for Pilots at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, the nation's largest pool for fighting air crews, are 156 young men from Iowa. When they have completed their studies and training at the preflight school, the cadets will be sent to a primary flying field. Still further training in basic and advanced flying schools will prepare them to be combat pilots. This group includes one from Orange City, Aviation Cadet Donald E. Brink, RFD 1.
Source: Sioux County Capital Oct. 28, 1943 p 7
Aviation Cadet Donald E. Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, has been transferred to Sikeston, Mo. to continue his studies for army flying. He has been located at San Antonio for the past several weeks. Upon completion of the course of Sikeston he will be transferred to one of the basic flying schools in the Central Flying Training Command for more advanced work. His new address is: 309th Army Air Forces Training Det., Mo. Institute of Aeronautics, Sikeston, Mo.
Source: Sioux Center News Nov. 18, 1943 p 2
Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink has a new address. It is:
AV-C Donald Brink
Sqd. 1 Flt. A.
309th AAFFTD
Sikeston, Mo.
Source: Sioux Center News Dec. 2, 1943 p 8
Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink received a letter from their son A/C Donald E. Brink of Sikeston, Mo. saying he is well and is flying every day. He is taking Pilot training and likes it better than anything he has ever done. For his birthday Donald received cards and several gifts which he appreciates very much but is sorry that he won't have time to answer them all. All the boys at the camp who cannot go home for Christmas have an invitation to eat a Christmas dinner in private homes near the camp. His address is Av/C Donald E. Brink 17079820, Sqd I, Flt. A 309th AAFFTD, Sikeston, Mo.
Source: Sioux County Capital Dec. 23, 1943 p 1
Aviation Cadet Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, writes that he witnessed the crash of one of his buddies last week Monday and the serious injury of another within a couple hours time. Fifty planes took off on a practice flight and he heard the radio instructions to his buddies' plane which crashed about fifteen miles from where Don was flying his B.T. bomber. The ambulance radioed back that no medical aid would be necessary as the boy was dead when help arrived at the scene of the crash. All the other planes were then instructed to land at an auxiliary field. As Don was taking his plane in for a landing he saw a man walking on the landing field, and a plane coming in behind him struck him and took off his arm at the shoulder. This boy was also a bunk mate of Don's. Don is at present located at Winfield, Kansas and is getting along fine, says they are being pushed pretty hard to complete their training as fast as possible, and are therefore under terrific strain.
Source: Sioux Center News Feb 17. 1944 p 10
Receives Wings
(photo)
2ND LT. DONALD E. BRINK
2nd Lt. Donald E. Brink arrived last Thursday at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, for his first furlough since he entered the service sixteen months ago. He graduated and received his commission as 2nd Lt. and his wings last week at Frederick, Okla. Donald enlisted in the Air Corps in April, 1942, and attended Morningside College until he was called in Feb, 1943. He has been trained to fly twin engine planes, but his future orders may involve piloting a different type of plane. He expects to get his orders before his furlough expires on June 7.
Source: Sioux Center News June 1, 1944 p 1
***
Orange City
***
Lt. Donald Brink
(photo)
Randolph Field, Texas, May 27
More than eleven hundred Midwesterners became flying officers of the Army Air Forces today as the AAF Training Command held simultaneous graduation exercises at the 11 advanced flying schools of the Central Flying Training Command.
Fighter Pilots were graduated from Eagle Pass, Aloe and Foster Fields in Victoria, and Moore Field at Mission, all in Texas. Bomber pilots received their wings from the Texas fields of Blackland at Waco, Ellington in Houston, Brooks in San Antonio, Lubbock and Pampa and from the two Oklahoma schools at Frederick and Altus.
Among the new pilots are 4 from this county. They are Donald E. Brink of Route 1, Orange City, Robert R. Van Nimwegon of Alton, George R. Scholten, Route 1, Doon, and Donald N. Zwiep of Hull.
Source: Sioux County Capital July 13, 1944 p 7
Lt. Donald Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink was able to spend a brief furlough with his parents here from Friday until Tuesday. Don is the pilot of the C-47 plane that pulls glider students, has been stationed at Camp Roberts, Calif.
Source: Sioux Center News Oct. 12 & 19, 1944 p 2
New address:
Lt. Donald Brink 0-2059401
O.S. Det. Class 212
L.A.A.F., Liberal, Kansas
Source: Sioux Center News Feb. 22, 1945 p 8
4 ENGINE BOMBER PILOT
(photo)
Liberal, Kansas - 2nd Lt. Donald E. Brink of Orange City, Iowa has been specially selected for four-engine bomb pilot training and has been transferred to Liberal Army Air Field for instruction in flying Liberator bombers. Lt. Brink is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink of Orange City, Iowa.
Lt. Brink will receive fifteen weeks of intensive training at this southwest Kansas installation of the Central Flying Training Command, and upon graduation will receive the rating of "airplane commander".
A member of the Morningside College of Sioux City, Iowa, Lt. Brink received training at the "Missouri Inst. of Airo", Sikeston, Mo., the SAAF, Winfield, Kansas, and the FAAF, Frederick, Okla. He graduated from advanced training May 23, 1944.
Source: Sioux Center News March 22, 1945 p 1
SOLDIER WEDS
Miss Lorraine Evonne Hafner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hafner of Herford, Texas and Lt. Donald E. Brink of Orange City, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, were married Saturday evening in the little chapel at the Liberal Army Air Base at Liberal, Kansas.
...
Donald pilots a B-24 and has the rating of Airplane Commander. ...
Source: Sioux County Capital Apr. 26, 1945 p 2
Lt. Donald Brink called his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink by telephone on Friday evening from Madison, Wisc. He is now in the air transport command and was taking a plane from Hartford, Conn. to Spokane, Wash.
Source: Sioux Center News May 31, 1945 p 2
Mrs. Donald Brink and Mrs. Delmar Brown, who spent the past two weeks visiting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, left on Saturday evening for Detroit where they will be with their husbands.
Source: Sioux Center News June 7, 1945 p 4
NEWS OF OUR MEN and WOMEN IN UNIFORM
Lt. Donald E. Brink, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Brink, arrived here with his wife last Friday on an 18-day leave subject to call. Donald is now piloting B-29s.
Source: Sioux Center News, August 19, 1945 p 2
Plane To Demonstrate Air - Ground Speech
Members of the 144th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Air National Guard, will present an unusual display of air-ground communication, as part of the Football Festival Parade in Berkeley tomorrow night.
A C-47 transport, flying over the parade route, will broadcast to a radio jeep in the line of march. Voices will be amplified so that spectators will be able to listen in on the conversation. At the same time, a radar truck from the squadron will track the plane.
According to Capt. H. H. Juell, acting squadron commander in the absence of Major C. W. Booth, the display will be carried out to boost enlistment in the organization. Lt. Donald Brink will be at the controls and S/Sgt. Norman Person at the radio in the plane, while S/Sgt. L. D. Wafford will be in charge of ground communication.
Source: Oakland Tribune, Oakland Calif. Sept. 21, 1950 p 19
Oakland
Radar Men Earn FAA Citation
Radar controllers at "Oakland Center" have earned for their organization the award as the Outstanding Federal Aviation Air Traffic Control Center in the nation for 1967.
A citation and plaque are to be presented to Center Chief Donald E. Brink next Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the Center building at 5125 Center Ave., Fremont.
The nationwide recognition for the Center's work in guiding en route air traffic, including military flights and all airliners moving across Northern California, Nevada, a portion of Oregon, and on oceanic routes to Hawaii, "is a tremendous achievement" for the local controllers, Brink said.
Present for the citation ceremonies Tuesday will be William Flener, director of air traffic services from Washington, D.C.; Lee Warren, deputy director of FAA's western region; Donald Pearson, assistant manager of the San Francisco area office; and Frank Happy, chief of the Air Traffic Branch of the San Francisco area office.
Representatives of the armed services and of the Airline Pilots Association will also be present.
The Oakland Center is 30 years old, but moved into vastly expanded quarters costing $3 million in 1960.
In recent months it has handled the greatest airline traffic load in history, while directing the vast numbers of military trans-Pacific flights in support of the Vietnam War.
Source: Oakland Tribune, Oakland Calif. April 25, 1968 p 15
