We lost a legend today. Tex Hill, Flying Tiger Heads West. RIP

[Joeaksa]

Just received this from a friend. We are losing 1000 WW2 Vets a day, every day. Hope that we all can salute these warriors and remember what they did so many years ago.

Hope we all can "head West" like this, having a party a few days before then moving on...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Our great friend and Warrior went West at 5:00 this afternoon. We wish him
a safe flight and smooth landing. Details of service(s) will follow as soon
as they are known.

Blue skies,

Ollie Crawford

P.S. Tex Hill's health has been on the decline for a long while. He has been in and out of the hospital the past 6 weeks or so with his last visit a week ago when he suffered a painful fall in the early hours of the morning. The fall caused a severe back/spinal injury which could only be relieved with strong medication. He slept most of the time, but woke up one morning and stated that he would like to have a party.

Several friends were notified and arrived that afternoon to visit with the great man and which also may have been a final farewell. And there were surprises. John Agather has a fine voice and presented his version of the Mills Brothers and Frank Sinatra which Tex seemed to enjoy very much. Another old time friend played a guitar. And Tex joined in by playing a harmonica. His doctor called to see if he was still with us. And when he
found out what was going on he rush over to join the party. Mrs Hill was rather upset about the whole event but told me that it was Tex ' party and she was happy with that fact and especially that Tex survived the ordeal. The next day, he did rally for a short time and held my hand for a few minutes but was in no shape to visit.


David Lee ' Tex ' Hill

. . was born on 13 July 1915 in Kwangju, Korea, the son of Presbyterian missionaries, who moved to Texas when he was 6 years old. After finishing Austin College in 1938, Tex completed naval flight school and served in a torpedo squadron on USS Saratoga and in a dive-bomber squadron on USS Ranger.

He was recruited in 1941 to serve in the Claire Chennault's AVG ' Flying Tigers ' where he served as a flight leader and then squadron leader flying the Curtiss P-40. In his service with the AVG, he was credited with
destroying 10.25 Japanese planes, and was one of the top aces.

His first victories came on January 3, 1942, when he downed two Ki-27 Nates over the Japanese airfield at Tak, Thailand. He claimed two more on the 23rd. Tex made Ace on the 24th, when he shot down a bomber and a fighter over Rangoon.

In May 1942, the Japanese Army began building a key pontoon bridge across the Salween River, that would allow the Japanese to move troops and supplies into China. To stem this tide, Squadron Leader David Lee "Tex" Hill led a flight of four new P-40's to bomb and strafe within the mile deep gorge.

During the next four days, the AVG pilots flew continuous missions into the gorge, effectively neutralizing the Japanese forces. From that day on, the enemy never advanced farther than the Salween's west bank. Flying
Tiger leader Claire Chennault, would later write of these critical missions led by Tex Hill : "The American Volunteer Group had staved off China's collapse."

After the deactivation of the Flying Tigers Tex Hill was one of only five to join its USAAF successor, the 23rd Fighter Group. He was promoted to major in the Army Air Corps. then later commanded the 23rd Fighter Group. In late 1944, before returning to the States, Tex Hill and his P-51 Mustang scratched another six Japanese aircraft.

Altogether, Hill destroyed 18.25 enemy aircraft in the air.

On Thanksgiving Day 1943, he led a force of 12 B-25s, 10 P-38s, and 8 new P-51 Mustangs based in China, on the first strike against Japanese-held Formosa. The Japanese had 100 bombers and 100 fighters located at a Formosan Airfield, and several of the bombers were in the landing pattern as "Tex" Hill's force arrived. The enemy managed to get seven fighters airborne, but they were promptly shot down. Forty-two Japanese airplanes were destroyed and 12 more were probably destroyed in the attack. The American force returned home with no casualties.

During the closing months of World War II, Tex Hill Commanded the first jet aircraft unit in the Army Air Forces flying the Bell XP-59 and then the Lockheed Shooting Star.

Military Honors : Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Silver Star, Chinese Order of the Cloud Banner 4, 5 & 6th, 2-Star
Wing Decorations, Chinese Victory Medal and British Distinguished Flying Cross.

[DaveE]

I've been watching the series, "The War" on PBS recently, trying to catch every episode. I can't say enough of the bravery and sacrifice the men and women of that generation showed to the world. Godspeed, Mr. Hill.

[2.7RACER]

My thanks for David Lee "Tex" Hill and all the men of his generation.

[Joeaksa]

Took these the last time I was at Wright-Pat in Dayton OH.





First



Second



Third



The whole squadron but not everyone is shown here:

[stevepaa]

"Just received this from a friend. We are losing 1000 WW2 Vets a day, every day. Hope that we all can salute these warriors and remember what they did so many years ago."

+1 to that.

[kach22i]

May God be his co-pilot............. forever.

[tabs]

While he will be missed, I can't cry too much cause 92 years is a good run.
I remember when Jimmy Doolittle passed away in the mid nineties...I thought what will the world be like without Jimmy Doolittle.

One fact remains, these guys will never be forgotten so long as the Boomer Generation is still around. When I was growing up every Dad on the street was a WW2 vet. They never talked about their experiences, they were/are very stoic about expressing their feelings. The PBS series the War was very well done which gave the mood of the war years.

Watching the series I thought the most realistic movie of the war was Darryl Zanucks The Longest Day. Zanuck was at D-Day as a combat photographer, the technical assistants on the movie were the actual participants who fought in the battle. The fact that he shot it in Black and White was true to the war time footage, which was mostly done in Black and White.

I contrast that with Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan. Which I am not too fond of. The dialog was too self conscience. The German soldiers were almost cartoonish in their appearance. It is purely revisionist history.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by kach22i

May God be his co-pilot............. forever.

KACHI...what a cliche. I coulda read that book too..

Guadalcanal Diary..by Richard Tregikas..was a first hand report written during the war.

[tabs]

Here are 2 books for anyone interested in the war in the Paciifc..

Robert Leckies...

"Strong Men Armed" which is a history of the corp during WW2

"Challenge for the Pacific" which is a history of the Guadalcanal campaign

Leckie was a veteran of the 1st Marine Corp Division during WW2.

[Isabo]

The best AVG book on my bookshelf is
Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers - Daniel Ford
They were all larger than life yet Tex Hill stood out. He had a good run, R.I.P.