HARRY AUGUSTINE BRUNO -1978

Floyd B. Odlum, (right), chairman, Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, who was the principal speaker at the Ninth Annual Dinner, with early member, Harry Bruno, (left), 1952 Photo Courtesy of History of the Wings Club, 1942-1967 by Clayton Knight

 

FAMILY BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 1 via email from Amber Emery, 5-19-05 Great-grandaughter of Harry Bruno Mr. Cooper:      I am one of the many great grandchildren of this brilliant man. I have not been given complete accurate information on him. Up until now, I thought the only book he wrote was "Wings Over America". I thought, crazy that it may seem, that he flew the very first glider. I have stated those words throughout my lifetime, without really thinking about what they meant to history and , you know, to those 2 guys, the Wright Brothers, I think that was their last name. (I'm just trying to make you laugh).      Anywho, now I know differently. I am not sure what shocks me the most. My grandmother, his daughter, Carolyn Perry, or rather born Carolyn Bruno, not giving me all the information, or the fact that you know more about him than I do.      I have no body to blame but myself. However, the more you know and would like to share, I would love to hear. I know my grandmother loved her father, but like most child/parent relationships, especially within that era, they were not close.      To help you out, if I have this correct, his parents, I think, died on the Lusitania and are buried in Ireland. I might be wrong on them being his parents and not his grandparents, but I know for sure some close relatives of his died on that historical voyage, and are thus buried as such.      I give you this information, knowing that you seem to want to preserve that side of my heritage better than those who should. I say thank you. If you do not reply, hey, I know how it is. I just hope you continue to remember and let others know what an awe-inspiring man he was. Not the most loving, but for sure one of the most intelligent of that time. Sincerely, Amber Jean Emery Editor's Note: I thank Amber for this personal insight into his life. If you can help her to fill in some of the blanks, to answer some of her questions, please contact me and I will forward your response to her.

 

QUIET BIRDMEN - FOUNDING MEMBERS from an archived copy of QB-BOSTON HANGAR Ye Anciente and Secret Order of Quiet Birdman Introduction "QB's have expanded and flourished under a few simple rules. The fact that they are few and reasonable makes it all the more necessary that they be carefully observed and followed. By so doing we believe we can continue to be the toughest outfit to join and the best social organization of pilots in the world. Lets all strive to keep it that way."

QB executive Committee

 

Origins * "The American Flying Club, born in France on Armistice Day, installed in a clubhouse of New York's Fifth Avenue in March 1919, took off in a blaze of glory and wound up two years later with a bailiff's padlock on the door. But a Phoenix was to arise from its ashes. A small group of flyers began to meet more or less regularly at Marta's Greenwich Village restaurant. Steve Hannigin, a reporter, visited the festive table, returned the next week with an artist. He did a feature story, with a sketch. In attendance that evening were: Harry Bruno; S. H. MacKeon; Wallace James; Richard R. Blythe; Earle Osborn; C. S." Casey Jones"; Slim Lewis; Ernest Loftquis; Paul G. Zimmerman; Donald Mcllheny; Baron Ladislas d'Orcy; Richard DePew; George Hubbard; R. B. C. Noorduyn; and J. E. Whitbeck. Harold Hersey, then editing Aces High Magazine, had visited Marta's, had his eardrums shaken by the desperate hilarity, and dubbed the gathering, The Quiet Birdmen. Hannegin's story was the first the public heard of the QB's - which grew up to become the greatest secret fraternal order in aviation." Editor's Note: If you want to know more about the organization, you can click on the link to access the archived copy of the website. I hope it will remain available for the foreseeable future.

 

FAMILY BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 2 via email from Catherine S. Dickson, 8-6-04 Great grandaughter of Harry Bruno Mr. Cooper,       I am writing to you because I have reviewed in the information found on your website regarding Harry Bruno. I am interested in obtaining more information or photographs regarding Harry Bruno and I am looking for advice from you on how I might obtain it.      You see, Harry Bruno is the father of my grandmother, his only daughter Caroline Perry. She doesn't talk much about him except for a few things that helped me find him through a google search. My great great grandfather had a falling out with my grandmother, as father and daughter's sometimes do. As a result, the pain that she felt from that separation that continued until his death, prevents her from talking about him in great lengths to his many many great grandchildren. Ten to be exact!      I want to know the man behind the name, so that I can know of the father of my grandmother. Believe it or not, she is still alive today well into her 80's! and I would like to share with her what I find before time takes that opportunity away from me. Thank you. Catherine S. Dickson

 

FAMILY BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 3 via email from Rex W. Long, 12-26-05      I am a second cousin to Evelyn Denny Bruno, Mr. Harry Bruno's second wife. Unfortunately, I never met the man. I arrived in NYC just in time to attend his funeral. Evelyn told me many wonderful things about him. One of Evelyn's brothers, The Late Reverend John Denny helped me get started in NYC where I was pursuing an acting career. I continue to pursue it today in Seattle, WA where I reside with my wife. I met her in NYC. The Dennys and I all originally hail from Ohio.       I also have a biography of Mr. Bruno which I acquired while in New York. Thanks for listening. Sincerely, Rex W. Long.

 

FAMILY BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 4 via email from Catherine S. Dickson, 1-10-06      I had not read Rex's note, but according to my information Evelyn is actually his third wife, which is probably because again not many people know about his 1st wife, which was my great grandmother Edith Lopez Bruno, mother of Carolyn Bruno. His second wife's name escapes me but she was an opera singer that sung all over the world and Harry traveled with her. They had no children together. He was married to my great grandmother the shortest, I believe the longest to the opera singer. He was only married to Edith about 6 years. After the opera singer, he then married Evelyn. There is so much to tell, but that is the brief summary on the wives.      If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. Ralph, I will send the tree [it is quite complicated!].

 

"BRUNO STATE DINNER      Much in the news was the State Dinner by the famed Lotos Club of New York on February 2, 1960 in honor of Harry A. Bruno in celebration of his 50th year in aviation and his ninth term as president of the Lotos Club. In addition to the other publicity accorded the event, the March issue of the Lotos Leaf devoted over half its pages to the affair. The printed program and menu carried a painting of Bruno on the cover and the names of previous state dinners on the inside. Telegrams read at the Bruno party honoring him came from the President Eisenhower, Stuart Symington, USAF Chief of Staff Headquarters Thomas D. White, National Commander of the American Legion Martin B. McKnealley, and others including our own EB president, E. A. "Pete" Goff. From The Early Birds of Aviation CHIRP, June 1960, Number 63

 

Adventurer's Club Honors H.A. Bruno      Early Bird Harry A. Bruno of New York City was honored by the Adventurer's Club of New York last November 16 at a dinner given at the Hotel Delmonico.      In recognition of his fifty years of achievements in aviation, EB Bruno was presented with the gold Amelia Earhart Medal. In response, he spoke on the subject, "Looking Backward Over Fifty Years of Aviation." A film "Flight Log," depicting many of the early airplane flights was shown.      Mr. Bruno flew a glider as a youth during the first decade after the initial flights of the Wright Brothers. During World War I, he served in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps with his brother, who was killed. He was admitted to the U. S. Aeronautical Reserves as a pilot at the age of seventeen. Since then he has been connected with many milestones of aviation progress.      In addition to Bruno's many activities as a pilot, he is the author of one of the basic books on aviation, "Wings Over America." He has for nearly forty years been the head of one of the country's oldest public relations organizations and has served on numerous advisory committees on public relations for the Air Force. From The Early Birds of Aviation CHIRP, March 1961, Number 65

 

HISTORY WAS FOR THE BIRDS by Lee David Hamilton from AIRWORLD, September, 1966      October is fond memory season for the last of the few of that select coterie of open-cockpit lads who flew those linen and wood machines in the daredevil days of aviation. They are called the Early Birds, rather The Early Birds, for that is what they truly were (and are). Their accomplishments are legion and legend, and their roll call a Who's Who of flight.      Through The Early Birds the embryonic adventure of aviation's first decade grew to manhood. In the growing-up years that followed World War I, their efforts in old fashioned energy and newfangled engineering led to today's unlimited horizons of aircraft invention and design. This month the aviation pioneers will hold their once-a-year wingding in Los Angeles, a community embarrassingly barren of early aviation history. However, the Golden State itself, is a potpourri of early air history, home now to nearly 60 of the "old chirps," an irrestible magnet for senior citizens.      The organization's charter dates from 1928 when English-born U.S. aviation pioneer P.G.B. Morriss (1884-1944) helped form the group, with the aid of a dozen friends. Any person who flew solo in a glider or machine' powered craft before December 17, 1916--and could prove it--was accepted in The Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. The cutoff date of 12/17/16 was selected, for at that time Federal authorities began team training of World War I pilots. After that, "aeroplanes" were no longer the private domain of aerobatic daredevils.      Although the club's purpose was fellowship and hopefully the preservation of personal memorabilia., few members joined the ranks without a witness or two to their solo flight. "Bud" Morriss for example, earned his wings in St. Louis at the Benoist Flying School during the summer of 1912. Later he sold flying boats for the firm.      While the exact number of early pioneers will never be known, an Early Bird memorial plaque presented to the Smithsonian Institution lists 567 men and women who soared their way to fame or, an early grave. The presentation was made only after years of arduous documentation by Elmo Neale Pickerill, Mineola, New York, secretary of the group.      And those who never joined?      At 17, Harry A. Bruno soloed in a glider of his own design the day after Christmas, 1910, more than half a century ago. Few men can claim association with as many world renowned aviation events as this 73-year-old New York public relations consultant who helped tell the story of Richard Byrd's 1926 North Pole flight, Lindbgergh's epic voyage of 1927, and the Graf Zeppelin record of 1928. On the eve of the SSST, Harry Bruno concerns himself with an international jet airline, helicopter commuter services, and the aerospace industry.

 

CORRESPONDENCE Harry Bruno to Charles B. Stone, III      This is a letter which Harry wrote in 1947 to his good friend Major General Charles B. Stone, III You can read the letter by clicking on the title above.

 

Harry Bruno's Cousin via email from Wally Fydenchuk, 10-8-09      I am researching Americans who served with the Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII.      Apparently Harry Bruno was Mike Sobanski's cousin. Sobanski was born in New York while his Polish mother was visiting relatives in New York.      Early in the war Sobanski escaped from German soldiers and fled to Canada joining the Royal Canadian Air Force. He transferred to the USAAF in 1942 and was killed on June 6, 1944 serving with the 4th Fighter Group.      Please forward the link to my website as well: IMMIGRANTS OF WAR

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Harry Bruno +aviation", using the Google search engine, (8-26-09), you will find about 1,660 links. One of the newer sites is an absolute prize.

The Aeromarine Website      This website, the product of Daniel Kusrow's & Björn Larssons' imagination and industry, is a remarkable resource and offers "Biographies of Aeromarine personalities" including Harry Bruno, Edwin Charles ("Ed") Musick, Charles Fraser Redden, Bernard Lewis "Barney" Smith, Inglis Moore Uppercu, Cyrus Johnston Zimmermann and Paul Gerhard Zimmermann. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.      If time permits, I heartily recommend that you read some of the other biographies and visit some of the photo album pages which offer previously unpublished and very important photographs. You can access them from the front page of the site.

PERSONAL REMEMBRANCES ON THE AEROFILES WEBSITE      You will find two delightful anecdotes by Harry on the AEROFILES website. It is one of a collection of remembrances which come from the July 1953 Aero Digest. You can visit his story, and several other EB's by clicking on the title above. You may want to use the "FIND" function twice on "Bruno"

 
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RECOMMENDED READING

"HARRY A. BRUNO, PUBLIC RELATIONS PIONEER By Princine Calitri      This is the biography of a man of action, a high school drop-out who built and flew the world's smallest monoplane over a forty-foot cliff and, at seventeen, was the youngest man to be accepted into the United States Aeronautical Reserve. As a pilot, newspaperman, radio announcer, publicity director, and an author of a best seller, he naturally gravitated to public relations, a field in which he has no peer. His early madcap antics to publicize his clients are rollicking and laugh-provoking, and his friends include General Jimmy Doolittle, Igor Sikorsky, Colonel Bernt Balchen, Major Alex de Seversky, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and Jacqueline Cochran. He handled history-making happenings such as Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, Admiral Byrd's flght over the North Pole, the Ellsworth-Wilkins Expedition, the Post-Gatty Flight Around the World. Now celebrating forty-five years as a public relations counsel and the president of his firm, Harry Bruno is proof that when integrity, dedication, and intelligence are properly directed, the accomplishments are limitless. From The Early Birds of Aviation CHIRP, January, 1969, Number 75

 

TUMULT IN THE CLOUDS   James A. Goodson   Product Details Cloth: 238 pages; 6x9 inches ISBN: 0-312-82327-4

Description:      "Lieutenant Colonel Goodson, one of the leading aces of the Allied Forces in World War II, gives here a vivid account of his career that etches indelible portraits of the men who shared the dangers and excitements of air combat with him. From the front flyleaf of the book      Goodson has included several references to Harry Bruno on pages 38-40 of his book. Perhaps the most informative is the following which is found on page 39.      "Harry Bruno had spent his life in aviation. At the age of seventeen, he and his brother had built a glider, at eighteen, he volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps to fly for the British in World War I. The war was over before he flew in combat, but, back in the States, he became the first aviation public relations consultant. He was an intimate friend of every important aviation figure in the world, and wrote about them in his classic book, Wings Over America. I met hnim when I got back from the war. He was orgnising a hero's tour, and explained that he was a public relations consultant."

 

Harry A. Bruno died in 1978 From The Early Birds of Aviation Roster of Members January 1, 1993   Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back