Paul P. Douglas Jr. (United States Air Force)
| Paul Page Douglas Jr | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
April 23, 1919 Paragould, Arkansas |
| Died |
December 26, 2002 (aged 83) Bertram, Texas |
| Place of burial | Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch |
 United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–1970 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General |
| Unit |
368th Fighter Group 388th Tactical Fighter Wing |
| Commands held |
321st Fighter Squadron 396th Fighter Squadron 368th Fighter Group 36th Fighter Group 48th Fighter Group 22d Fighter Squadron 21st Fighter-Bomber Group 1400th Operations Group 474th Tactical Fighter Wing 41st Air Division 388th Tactical Fighter Wing 836th Air Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Vietnam War |
| Awards |
 Distinguished Service Cross (2) Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit (2) Distinguished Flying Cross (3) Purple Heart (2) Air Medal (38) |
| Relations | Sarah Chandler (Wife) |
Paul Page Douglas Jr (April 23, 1919 – December 26, 2002) was a flag officer in the United States Air Force, and an ace.
During World War II, he flew the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Theater of Operations and became one of the most highly decorated combat aces of the war. He was credited with shooting down 8 planes in the air and destroying 27 enemy planes on the ground.
He completed a total of 136 combat missions and 337 combat hours while serving as commander of the 396th Fighter Squadron, vice commander of the 368th Fighter Group, and later as commander of the 36th Fighter Group in Belgium, France and Germany. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor, and twice received the Distinguished Service Cross .
In 1968, Douglas participated in his second war, as the commander of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, and flew a full tour of bombing and fighter missions over North Vietnam.[1] He retired from Air Force on 1970.
Early life
Douglas was born in Paragould, Arkansas, in April 23, 1919. His father was a conductor on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Douglas attended public schools in Paragould and graduated from high school in 1938.[2]
On the fall of 1938, he enrolled at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he became a cheerleader and a reporter for the college newspaper, the Echo.
He also earned his private pilot’s license while at Arkansas State Teachers College.[3]
Military career
After war broke out in Europe, Douglas joined the Arkansas National Guard and was called to active duty in 1941. He entered the aviation cadet program on April 28, 1941, and received his wings and commission as a second lieutenant at Victoria Field, following December 12, just five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[4]
World War II
Douglas served as a P-36 Hawk, P-40 Warhawk, P-38 Lightning, and P-47 Thunderbolt pilot with the 63d Fighter Squadron of the 56th Fighter Group at Mitchel Field, from December 1941 to June 1942. His next assignment was as a P-36 and P-47 pilot and as Operations Officer with the 89th Fighter Squadron of the 80th Fighter Group at Mitchel Field from July to November 1942.[5]
Douglas himserved as a P-47 pilot and Commander of 321st Fighter Squadron of the 326th Fighter Group at Westover Field, from November 1942 to June 1943. Douglas served as Commander of the 396th Fighter Squadron of the 368th Fighter Group at Farmingdale, New York, from June to December 1943.[6]
Douglas was assigned to England from January to November 1944. His next assignment was as Deputy Commander of the 368th Fighter Group from November 1944 to April 1945, followed by service as Commander of the 368th Fighter Group from April to June 1945.
During this time, logged a total of 136 missions and 337 combat hours against the Luftwaffe. On two occasions, he shot down three enemy aircraft in one flight. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor and twice received the Distinguished Service Cross, at that time the nation’s second-highest military decoration. Douglas was credited with shooting 8 enemy aircraft in the air and destroying 27 enemy planes on the ground, while strafing airfields, making him the top strafing pilot in the AAF with 27 confirmed enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground.[7]
Because of the P-47 Thunderbolt’s versatility, pilots under Douglas’s command were assigned the unusual task of intercepting German V-1 rockets aimed at England. In the first ten days of the fall 1944 the Blitz, more than 1,000 V-1 rockets were launched toward England. As they soared over the English Channel at about 5,000 feet, flying at 330 to 380 miles per hour, pilots in Douglas’s 368th Fighter Group flew in two-plane formations five to ten miles out to sea and used the P-47’s high-speed dive capability to close in to a good attacking range. They destroyed 47 percent (494) of the flying bombs with comparative ease during the Blitz.
Douglas served as Commander of the 36th Fighter Group in Germany from April to June 1945. After V-E Day, he served as Commander of the 48th Fighter Group in Germany and France from June to September 1945.[8]
Post War
His next assignment was as Supervisor of Flying Training with the 146th Base Unit at Selfridge Air Force Base, from December 1945 to March 1946, followed by service as Jet Operations Officer with Headquarters of 3rd Air Force in Tampa, Florida, and then at Langley Air Force Base from March to September 1946.[9]
He then received an assignment to complete his bachelor's degree at Texas Christian University from September 1946 to June 1948, and after receiving his bachelor's degree, he served as Wing Flying Safety Officer for the 1st Fighter Wing at March Air Force Base, from July to September 1948. Douglas served as an Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star pilot and Commander of the 22d Fighter Squadron of the 36th Fighter Wing at Furstenfeldbruck Air Base in Germany, from June 1948 to December 1949.[10]
His next assignment was as a Jet Operations Officer with Headquarters of Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base and then as an Instructor with the Air-Ground Operations School at Headquarters of 9th Air Force at Pope Air Force Base from January 1950 to December 1952. Douglas served as an North American F-86 Sabre pilot and Commander of the 21st Fighter-Bomber Group at George Air Force Base from January 1953 to November 1954, followed by service as Chief of the Investigation and Field Operations Division with the Directorate of Flight Safety Research, Office of the Inspector General, at Norton Air Force Base, from November 1954 to January 1958.
Douglas attended the NATO Defense College in Paris, France, from February to August 1958, and then served as an Northrop F-89 Scorpion pilot and Commander of the 1400th Operations Group at Keflavik Airport in Iceland, from August 1958 to August 1959.
His next assignment was as Assistant for Flight Missile and Nuclear Safety with Headquarters of U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon from August 1959 to July 1960, followed by service as Deputy Inspector General for Safety with the 1003rd Inspector General Group and Deputy Director of Aerospace Safety with the 1002nd Inspector General Group at Norton Air Force Base from July 1960 to June 1964.
Douglas served as Director of Operations with the 832nd Air Division at Cannon Air Force Base, from June to September 1964, and then as Commander of the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base from September 1964 to July 1965. He next served as Commander of the 41st Air Division at Yokota Air Base from July 1965 to January 1968.
He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (3rd Class) from the Government of Japan, for his efforts as the commander of 41st Air Division at Yokota.[11]
Vietnam War
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During the Vietnam War, Douglas took the command of 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand, after the previous commander, Colonel Neil J. Graham died of a heart attack.
During his tour in Vietnam, Douglas flew Republic F-105D Thunderchief 59-1743, which he also named "The Arkansas Traveler". His F-105D crew chief was SSgt Frank B. Vargo. A command pilot, he flew 101 missions over North Vietnam.[12]
Post War
After his tour in Vietnam, he served his final assignment was as Commander of the 836th Air Division at MacDill Air Force Base, from February 1969 until his retirement from the Air Force on February 1, 1970.
Later life
Douglas met Sarah Lee Chandler in Corpus Christi, Texas. They corresponded for over three years and married on December 23, 1944. They had two daughters and a son.
Following his retirement, Douglas and his wife moved to Conway, Arkansas, where he joined the staff of the University of Central Arkansas.[13]
During the next thirteen years, he served as the purchasing agent at the university and operated a cattle farm in nearby Greenbrier, Arkansas.
In 1983, Douglas acquired ranch property in Bertram, Texas. He built a home and moved his family and cattle operation there the following year.
Douglas died on December 26, 2002. He is buried in the Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery in Killeen, Texas.[14]
Awards and Decorations
He is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours. His military decorations include 2 Distinguished Service Crosses, 3 Silver Stars, 2 Legions of Merit, 3 Distinguished Flying Cross, 2 Purple Hearts, 38 Air Medals, 4 Air Force Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, 3 Air Force Presidential Unit Citations, the French Croix de Guerre with Etoile de Vermeil, the Belgian Fourragere, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the third Order of the Sacred Treasure from Japan.[15]
Other Decorations
 |
Belgian Fourragère |
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Order of the Sacred Treasure (3rd Class) |
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526#
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526#
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526#
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526#
- ↑ http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1554
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526
- ↑ http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1554
- ↑ http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1554
- ↑ http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1554
- ↑ http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107197/brigadier-general-paul-p-douglas-jr/
- ↑ http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107197/brigadier-general-paul-p-douglas-jr/
- ↑ http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107197/brigadier-general-paul-p-douglas-jr/
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526
- ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3526