Pratt, Kan. —
Aviation pioneer Howard J. Curran was born March 27, 1918, in Pratt, and passed away peacefully on Aug. 16, 2009. Flying a P-47 Thunderbolt nicknamed the Kansas Tornado, he was a highly decorated World War II flying ace and also served valiantly during the Korean War.
During the Cold War years, due to instrument failure and lack of fuel, he was forced to land in Albania. He was reported missing on Dec. 23, 1957, on a routine flight to Naples and the search was given up on Dec. 28 and he was presumed dead. The Albanian government at first denied that he had been captured, but through the intervention of French officials, eventually announced that he would be released on Jan. 9, 1958. Curran was the subject of a story in the Jan. 27, 1958, issue of Life magazine.
He retired from the Air Force in 1959 with the rank of major and worked for the U.S. Postal Service until his retirement in 1983. He had lived in Tacoma, Wash.
In his honor, the street in front of the parachute building at Pratt Industrial Airport, being converted into a Bombers on the Prairie Museum, has been named Curran Road.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jacqueline; a son, Mike; a daughter, Marylou; a brother, ***; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Joan in 1956 and his oldest daughter Pat in 1999, as well as brothers Robert and Charles and sister Catherine.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.