William N. Alsbrook

William Noel Alsbrook, Sr. (January 31, 1916 – January 5, 1998) was an American inventor and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or "Schwartze Vogelmenschen" ("Black Birdmen") among enemy German pilots.

Early life Alsbrook was born on January 31, 1916, in Kansas City, Kansas. He was the son of Elgeitha Dorothy Stovall Alsbrook, a school teacher, and Irving Adolphus Alsbrook, who died when Alsbrook was very young. To support his family, Alsbrook worked for Zenith Electronics as a television and electronics technician until his retirement in 1982. He was one of the first African American technicians at Zenith. Patenting his idea two years before his death in 1998, Alsbrook willed the patent to his son Reginald who leveraged the invention into patented plastic wrappers known as the Pull Out Pouch Packaging System (P.O.P.P.S), through the Alsbrook family's business, Diana's Homegrown. The Alsbrook family rolled out its patented products in over 16 Target stores, and at the Kirtland Air Force Base, through a five-year, $1MM contract with the National Nuclear Security Administration, a division of the Department of Energy.

Death Alsbrook died on January 5, 1998, in Springfield, Illinois. He is interred at Camp Butler National Cemetery, Plot CREMB, 0, 311, in Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon County.