Park, Hee-sung: Pilot license #1 from the Provisional Government.
Park, Hee-sung is a younger brother of Park, Hee-do who was a Christian delegate and one of 33 signatories of the March First Independence Movement of 1919. He came to America to fulfill his older brother’s dream to become a pilot. He was trained in Willows, California where Roh, Baik-lin and Kim, Chong-lim opened a Korean aviation school. However, his plane crashed on April 10 so he could not fly. He returned and tried again on May 22, and this time he acquired his pilot certificate from Sacramento airfield with an international pilot licence. Later on July 18, the Provisional Government in Shanghai commissioned him as army pilot. He passed away in 1937 at the age of 41. In 2010, the South Korean government posthumously recognized him with a National Foundation Commendation for his service toward Korean independence. Korean government repatriated his remains back to Daejeon National Cemetery on November 15, 2010.
