Glenn Warren BROPHY & Mary Magdalene WHALEN
Husband: Glenn Warren BROPHY, b. ABT 1901, California, d. Mar 1931, Around China seas
While called Warren, he was actually born with first name of Glenn.While article in the possession of Cheri Piersee in a scrapbook kept by his namesake Warren Piersee, reports him as the Los Angeles flyer many articles refer to him as the British flyer. . According to newspaper articles in 1929, about his wife Mary Whalen Brophy he was married to her three years prior in New York State. He also was said to own an aviation school in Arizona. He is listed as being among the aviators who welcomed Lindbergh on famous flight in 1927. Glenn “Warren Brophy was rumored to be a pilot for Chaing Kai Shek and attempted to establish many routes in the Far East. In March of 1931 while trying to establish a route from Macao China to Manilla Phillipines he disappeared over the sea. As a child my mother told me that my aunt Mary wanted to believe that he was picked up by fisherman near Japan, mainly because people had whispered that he was a spy. In China at that time the political situation was perilious and my aunt was afraid if he was captured he would be executed as a spy Below are newspaper articles and headlines taken direct from the NY times newspaper archive.and the official site of the Arizona Flying service. on the memorial Glenn W Brophy page. Article reads as follows:. Glenn W. Brophy was the principal of Arizona Flying Service, Van Buren Airport, Phoenix, AZ. He landed at Tucson five times in three different aircraft between May 7, and September 2, 1929. He carried passengers on four of his visits, and their itineraries generally focused on cities of the southwest, ranging from Los Angeles to Huechia, Mexico. He landed flying an American Eagle Phaeton one of the oldest aircraft to land at the Airfield, and a Monocoupe NC7311 See the respective links for information about those aircraft, and the context around Brophy's visits to Tucson with them. Brophy's landings at the Airfield preceded a harrowing adventure, of which, at this writing, I am not sure about the outcome. Barely a year after his last Tucson landing, he was working as manager of the aviation division of the L.E. Gale Company of Shanghai. The Gale Company was an importer of aircraft from the U.S. to China. To build business, Brophy was tasked with the job of blazing an airplane trail for mail and passenger service from Shanghai to Manila via Foochow, Canton and Macao. A Bumpy Start Brophy left Shanghai on January 17, 1931 on his pathfinding adventure. A few days later, the Newark Star Eagle of 1/23/31 headlined, “U.S. FLYER FORCED TO LAND IN CHINA”. Fog was the reason given for the landing. He was uninjured. On his second takeoff, on January 27, he was again forced down in China, thirty miles southeast of Foochow. Ice formed on the wings, and the propeller was slightly damaged. He was, again, uninjured. A Hiatus and Another Attempt Almost two months later, on Thursday March 19, 1931, the Newark Evening News reported that Brophy had left Macao at 8:50AM that morning and was overdue at Manila, a 600 mile flight over water. The New York Sun reported no sign of him on 3/21/31. The search was formidable. Seven destroyers, two destroyer tenders, two aircraft carriers and their complement of aircraft were deployed. L.E. Gale told the New York Times on Saturday 3/21/31 that the uselage of the airplane had been stuffed with, ”…strongly inflated air-tight bags. Several life rafts and life belts also were in the equipment…and these together with wings should keep the plane afloat several days.“ Gale was convinced Brophy was drifting somewhere in the South China Sea and would be found if the Navy continued its intensive search. That was not to be. The New York Times of 3/22/31 reported that, after 47 hours of searching over 34,000 square miles on all possible courses and drift patterns the plane might have taken, the search would be discontinued after the 22nd. On 3/23/31 the New York Times reported a cessation of search activities and the return of the search fleet. A year later an article detailed that he may have been a man who was a castaway in Japan. To see that article in copy of form look under photos for Glenn on this program. MORE ARTICLE HEADLINES SEARCH FOR BROPHY FUTILE; Asiatic Fleet Unable to Find Missing Los Angeles Flier. Special to The New York Times.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 22, 1931. pg. 20, 1 pgs
Document types: article Text Word Count 155 Document URL: AIR SEARCHFS VAIN FOR MISSING FLIERS; Planes and Destroyers Continue Hunt for Glenn W. Brophy in the China Sea. HARSHMAN BELIEVED LOST United States Fleet Returns to Panama, Bringing the Naval Manoeuvres to an End. Brophy Backer Still Has Hopes. No Trace Seen of Harshman. Adams Starts for Washington. Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 21, 1931. pg. 8, 1 pgs
Document types: article Dateline: MANILA, Saturday, March 21. Text Word Count 610 Document URL:
Abstract (Document Summary) MANILA, Saturday, March 21.– Seven United States destroyers and two aircraft tenders with eleven seaplanes are encountering rough weather in the searching off the west coast of Luzon for Glenn W. Brophy, Los Angeles aviator …
Click to purchase complete document MANILA, Saturday, March 21.– Seven United States destroyers and two aircraft tenders with eleven seaplanes are encountering rough weather in the searching off the west coast of Luzon for Glenn W. Brophy, Los Angeles aviator …Warren was honored on June 14,1934 in New York City by a group of other aviators. His nephew Warren Ray Piersee was given his first name to honor him.
Wife: Mary Magdalene WHALEN, (daughter of David Edward WHALEN), b. 19 Jun 1904, Kansas City Missouri, d. 7 Jan 1995, Albuquerque New Mexico
First marriage Certificate Number: Jackson County Missouri 1922A0005682 Sequence #: 0 Date of Application: 12/30/1922 Groom: BARNET, JOE LYLE Bride: WHALEN, MARY MAGDELINE Maiden Surname: Date of Marriage: 12/31/1922 Volume: Page: While this says Barnet on index actual marriage record reads Barnes. He remarries again in 1928 so the marriage is over by then. It was said he was very abusive to her and she only stayed married to him less than a year. This aunt of mine had no children but was pregnant at one time and had a miscarriage when she was in a car accident. Despite the fact that she was married three times she was very independent.and considered her second husband Glenn Warren Brophy to be the love of her life. She herself was one of the few women aviators of her time and learned to fly in Arizona where her second husband Glenn Warren Brophy owned and operated a flight school. She followed her husband to China in the 1930's and I recall seeing many items she bought and gifted people with that she bought in China. Warren disappeared in March of 1931 while flying from Macao China to Manilla Phillipes. After his death she at one point married her third husband Henry Ross Robertson He predeceased her.. She died in Albuquerque New Mexico where she had moved with her husband Ross whom I remember fondly. They loved to travel.Mary ROBERTSON Birth Date: 19 Jun 1904 Death Date: 7 Jan 1995 Social Security Number: Blocked out State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Missouri Death Residence Localities ZIP Code: 87108 Localities: Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico