1945 ~ The Kristoffersons and a B-25 with Brownsville written on it

1945 October 21 Rio Grande Valley International Airport 

This is a photo of Colonel Henry Kristofferson and his family after he flew this B-25 from Washington, D.C. to Brownsville, Texas after being discharged from the U.S. Army Air Forces.  The nose-art depicts the Colonel riding a rocket from Karachi to Brownsville.  The names of his wife and kids were included as "Kristy, Karen and Kraigher."  If you have been following Bronsbil Estacion for a while or are old enough to remember back quite a few decades you already know "Kristy" on the left is none other than Kris Kristofferson but if you have ever heard of the Kraigher house on Paredes Line Road you probably recall it was built for a Pan-Am pilot who was here during the 1940's.  His name was George Kraigher; same as Kris' brother.  Coincidence that?  Nah....

Both men were Colonels and honored with the Legion of Merit award on the same day in on February 15, 1944 as reported in the Herald.  Kraigher began work with PAA in 1929 as a pilot and was an operations manager in Brownsville.  Kristofferson began with PAA in 1934.  Both men were awarded for their conduct and service from August/November (respectively) 1941 to June 1943 and helped establish air routes over Africa and the Middle East to transport supplies to allied forces.

Someone painted him on a rocket riding the "_____ special" from Karachi, India to Brownsville, Texas.  There were actually ten or twelve people from Brownsville who went to Africa in 1941 to establish an aerial lifeline in the Middle East and became known locally as the "Africans."  It was Kristofferson who pioneered the Rocket Run which translated to rapid service to the China, Burma and India Theatre for the Air Transport Command (ATC).

Col. Kristofferson originally landed in Brownsville as a Pan American World Airways senior pilot before being reinstated as an assistant chief of staff for operations of the ATC.  He had been presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Legion of Merit and also wore a Distinguished Unit Citation ribbon.  By 1947 the Kristofferson family would relocate to San Francisco.

 1944  Karen, Kraigher and Kristoffer

The Colonel eventually became a USAF General and the son a Star but we'll continue that with a future post.

If anyone has a better photo of this so we can know what it says on the caricature's tie we'd much appreciate you sharing that info with us ~  10-4 over and out

Maybe this is George Kraigher playing with his dogs in front of the Richard J. Nuetra house built in 1937?  We'll know that story later too maybe....