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Henry Buttelman (Photo USAF)

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Buttelmann, the youngest ace of the Korean War, passed away on September 16, 2019.

Henry Buttelmann was born in Corona, New York on 26 June 1929. Entering the Air Force pilot training program in 1952, he graduated and went through advanced gunnery training before being sent to Korea in December of that year to serve with the 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, equipped with the F-86 Sabre.

On June 19th, 1953, on his 55th mission scored his first aerial victory by downing a MiG-15. Eleven days later, he became the youngest ace in the Korean War when he shot down his fifth aircraft. By the time the Korean War ended on July 27, he had flown 65 combat missions and shot down a total of 7 enemy aircraft.

He was to see combat again during the Vietnam War, flying 46 combat missions in the F-105 with the 562nd Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1965. In 1969, he served for another 12 months in Vietnam, flying the F-100 Super Sabre with the Misty Forward Air Controllers and the 308th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

He retired from the Air Force in 1979 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was a resident of Las Vegas for over thirty years.

Our thoughts and prayers extend to the family and relatives of Henry Buttlemann.

Sources:

• Las Vegas Review Journal
• 2016 interview of Henry Buttelmann
• NASM Wall of Honor

Continue reading]]> Thomas J. Hudner Jr., the only US Naval aviator to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War, died age 93 at his home in Concord, Massachusetts, on 13 November 2017.

Born on 31 August 1924, Thomas Hudner was flying F4U Corsairs with VF-32 when the Korean War broke out. On 4 December 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Hudner deliberately crashed his aircraft on a mountainside in an attempt to rescue his wingman Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American aviator in the US Navy.

Hudner retired from the US Navy in 1973 and was very active with veterans associations.

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, while attempting to rescue a squadron mate whose plane struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Quickly maneuvering to circle the downed pilot and protect him from enemy troops infesting the area, Lt. (J. G.) Hudner risked his life to save the injured flier who was trapped alive in the burning wreckage. Fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. Unsuccessful in this, he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames. Lt. (J. G.) Hudner’s exceptionally valiant action and selfless devotion to a shipmate sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.”

Read more on Thomas Hudner and Jesse Brown.

Continue reading]]> Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess, who died on March 2, 2015 aged 97, was a Disciples of Christ Church minister who enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack and flew 63 combat missions on the P-47 Thunderbolt during World War II.

He was recalled to active duty in 1948 and saw further action during the Korean War. He was the commander of the Bout One Project, the program under which a cadre of USAF instructor pilots trained South Korean pilots in flying the F-51 Mustang.

During his service in Korea, he was involved in charity organizations for orphaned children in the war zone and helped rescue hundreds of Korean orphans.

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• Source (2)