Military Officer - May 2006 - (Page 63)

pagesofhistory Ace Pilot Dies Claude Kinsey, a World War II ace, saw action over North Africa before being shot down himself. He escaped from a POW camp in Italy and continued his ﬂying career. C laude R. Kinsey Jr., a “ﬂying sergeant” who became one of the ﬁrst World War II aces and pulled off a dramatic escape from a POW camp, died of cancer in February at the age of 86. Kinsey was credited with shooting down seven enemy planes over North Africa in early 1943 before he was shot down by his own inexperienced wingman. He bailed out of his burning P-38 Lightning ﬁghter over Tunis, Algeria, and was turned over to the Italian military. Later that year, Kinsey escaped from the POW camp where he was being held and began his 100-mile march through Italy across German lines. His month-long ordeal included trading three days of labor on a vineyard for food and shelter, suffering severe diarrhea and being nursed back to health by a shepherd, and sharing a meal with gypsies. When he reached the front, he crossed through what he later learned was a German mineﬁeld to ﬁnd a squad of Canadian soldiers and eventually make it back to his squadron. Kinsey had entered the Army Air Forces as an enlisted man and trained to ﬂy while still a private; he was promoted to sergeant after he completed ﬂight training. After his return to the States, he toured the nation THIS MONTH IN HISTORY ■ On May 28, 1754, 22-year-old Lt. Col. as a war hero to promote the sale of war bonds. He spent the remainder of the war as a P-38 combat instruction pilot. He later ﬂew B-47 Stratojet bombers, some of them loaded with nuclear weapons. He retired in 1965 as a lieutenant colonel and squadron commander. T Celebrating Tuskegee Airmen he Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in Rantoul, Ill., located on the former Chanute AFB, will open an exhibit on the 99th Pursuit Squadron June 3. The opening ceremony will include vintage aircraft, a lecture series, and a gala dinner. The Tuskegee Airmen experience in the military began in Illinois. The 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated March 22, 1941, at Chanute Field, Ill. Some 278 support personnel trained there; the class overall grade point average remains the highest ever achieved at Chanute Field. On July 19, 1941, the ﬁrst 12 aviation cadets and one ofﬁcer began pilot training at Tuskegee, Ala. The Chanute detachment was transferred south in October to join the pilots. In April 1943, the redesignated 99th Fighter Squadron was deployed to North Africa and eventually Italy. For more information about the exhibit, call the museum at (217) 893-1613. MO M AY 2 0 0 6 Claude Kinsey Jr. received the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart, and nine awards of the Air Medal. George Washington leads a Virginia militia to defeat a French reconnaissance party in southwestern Pennsylvania in the first engagement of the French and Indian War. PHOTO: COURTESY C.R. KINSEY III MILITARY OFFICER 63

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Military Officer - May 2006 Contents From the Editor President's Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Raising Iraq Dogfight Fun Caring For Our Own Pages of History Information Exchange MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2006

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