Brigadier General Olds

Bob Moore wrote:
Tom Hayden wrote
Time for a little (somewhat related) humor -
Some people think of themselves primarily in terms of a title, I
guess.



Ah well....no one ever said that we had to be proficient in language
skills in order to fly airplanes or write TV shows. :-)


Bob Moore

Without doubt Robin Olds was a pilot and hero of that "Greatest
Generation". He had the skill and tenacity to bring all his experience
to several generations of combat fliers so they could succeed. He was a
leader of men. Unfortunately he had to fight pompous military
bureaucrats flying desks all of his career after WWII.
Robin Olds would understand the respect paid him by those addressing him
as General, however a man of his modesty would prefer to be remembered
as an old P-38 jockey.

Savageduck

Savageduck wrote:
Bob Moore wrote:
Tom Hayden wrote
Time for a little (somewhat related) humor -
Some people think of themselves primarily in terms of a title, I
guess.



Ah well....no one ever said that we had to be proficient in language
skills in order to fly airplanes or write TV shows. :-)

Bob Moore

Without doubt Robin Olds was a pilot and hero of that "Greatest
Generation". He had the skill and tenacity to bring all his experience
to several generations of combat fliers so they could succeed. He was a
leader of men. Unfortunately he had to fight pompous military
bureaucrats flying desks all of his career after WWII.
Robin Olds would understand the respect paid him by those addressing him
as General, however a man of his modesty would prefer to be remembered
as an old P-38 jockey.

Savageduck


Also just to clarify Robin Olds' history, he graduated from West Point
(where he was an All-American tackle) and earned his USAAF wings on June
1, 1943. He was assigned to 479th Fighter Group in February 1944 and
shipped out to England in May 1944. Capt. Olds became one of the Eighth
AF's few P-38 aces by shooting down two Fw190's on August 14, 1944 and
three Bf109's on the August 24, 1944. Later in 1944 the 479th converted
to P-51s and he shot down eight more enemy fighters giving him a WWII
aerial combat score of 13. He has 11 documented ground kills (but real
fighters never claim them, only the statisticians). He flew 107 WWII
combat missions and as a 22 year old major commanded the 434th FS.
His WWII awards include two Silver Stars, two DFCs, 28 Air Medals, The
British DFC and the Croix de Guerre.

Twenty two years later Colonel Olds commanded the 8th Tactical Fighter
Wing in the Vietnam War. Flying F-4 Phantoms he added four MIG kills to
his score at the age of 44.

For his service in South East Asia he earned The Air Force Cross, two
Distinguished Service Medals, two more Silver Stars, three more DFCs and
twelve more OLCs to his Air Medals. He retired from the USAF as a
brigadier general in 1973.
A pilot's pilot, an example of leadership and a modest gentleman.

Savageduck