CCU professor continues to share the story of a war hero

Henry Lowenstein continues to find creative new ways to share the story and military career of 1st Lt. Frank Philby “Bud” Hayes, a World War II Army Air Force pilot and Lowenstein’s relative. This summer, he will give a talk about Hayes’ heroic career and tragic death at the PYB Naval Air Museum in Oak Harbor, Wash., during the July Speakers Luncheon.

Last year, Lowenstein, a professor of management and law and former dean of the Wall College of Business, wrote about the story in his book, “The Rescue Man: A ‘Snafu Snatching’ Rescue Pilot’s Extraordinary Journey Through World War II.”

The story tells about Hayes’ time flying a PBY Catalina, a “flying boat” designed primarily for patrol, sea rescue missions, anti-submarine warfare and strafing. In the final days of the war, Hayes’ Catalina was hit head on by a rogue wave and sank to the bottom of the ocean, killing Hayes and his crew.

The idea for the book began when Lowenstein’s mother-in-law asked him to clean out her basement where he found a box filled with the pilot’s memorabilia. He immediately became fascinated with the story.

At the museum, Lowenstein will speak to the attendees, go onboard a PBY and fly one of the PBY flight simulators.

The museum is located on Whidbey Island, which was a major West Coast naval base during WWII that protected Seattle. The island was one of the Navy’s two major PBY bases in the Pacific. The other major base was Pearl Harbor.