Archive for Saturday, June 16, 2007
Fighter ace Olds dies at 84
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Gen. Robin Olds salutes while being installed as commandant during ceremonies at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1967. Olds died peacefully at his home in Steamboat Springs on June 14.
Steamboat Springs — Gen. Robin Olds, who became a fighter pilot ace in World War II and the Vietnam War, died peacefully at his home in Steamboat Springs on Thursday. He was 84.
Olds was a former commandant of the U.S. Air Force Academy and is a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. A brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, he was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received his commission as a second lieutenant in June 1943.
A member of the football team at West Point, he was named an All-American tackle in 1942. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Olds achieved the unusual distinction of becoming a fighter ace in two wars that were 23 years apart. He was rated a triple ace after shooting down 17 enemy aircraft during the course of 259 combat missions in Europe during World War II and in Vietnam.
In Steamboat Springs, Olds pursued a passion for skiing and served on the city Planning Commission. He accepted many speaking engagements across the country and continued to do so into his 80s. Olds made 21 speaking appearances in 2005 and 13 more in 2006.
He completed pilot training in 1943 and began his combat flying during World War II in a P-38 Lightning named "Scat 1." By the end of the war, he was flying a P-51 Mustang he called "Scat VII." During the course of 107 missions, he was credited with downing 13 aircraft and destroying another 11.5 aircraft on the ground.
After the war, Olds flew as wingman on the first jet acrobatic team in the Air Force. He also claimed second place in the Thompson Trophy Race at Cleveland in 1946.
In September of that year, he began flying P-80 jets at March Field, Calif. He went to England in the autumn of 1948 under an exchange program with the Royal Air Force. While in Great Britain, he commanded the No. 1 fighter Squadron for the Royal Air Force.
He moved on to Southeast Asia in 1966 and commanded the Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. He resumed combat flying in "Scat XXVII," an F-4 Phantom II and completed 152 missions, 105 of them over North Vietnam. Using his aircraft's air-to-air missiles, he shot down two MIG-17s and two MIG-21s, two of them on a single mission.
He returned to the United States in December 1967 and became commandant of the Air Force Academy, a post he continued until February 1971.
He was promoted to brigadier general in 1968 and retired from the military in 1973.
Among the many military decorations he received were the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters.
In 2003, Olds was featured with fighter pilots such as Chuck Yeager and Walker "Bud" Mahurin in the FOX television show "War Stories with Oliver North." Interviews with Olds continue to appear on the History Channel program "Dogfights."
Olds will be memorialized in services including a flyover July 7 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. His body will be cremated, and his ashes will remain at the Academy.
Plans for a service in Steamboat Springs are pending.
Comments
dundalk (anonymous) says...
here here to hash's suggestion.
"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country".
June 16, 2007 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hadleyburg_Press (anonymous) says...
Spot on Commander. How about a parade for Dr. Steven Swanson as well. Sure do wish we would do more to recognize the people that deserve recognition in this country. It's a damn shame that people don't care more about the true heroes in our society.
June 16, 2007 at 5:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dogd (anonymous) says...
One of the things that has made very proud of the town I live in for years was the fact of knowing that one of the absolute legends lives here. To have had the honor of being aquainted with General Olds was humbling.
It also made me proud of the selection that one of the very most effective defenders of this nation made when he chose a place to set down. He was a giant.
Too bad this town doesn't really have a newspaper.
It doesn't surprise me that the Pilot gave his passing a dull mediocre nod.
June 17, 2007 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
elbartoks (anonymous) says...
The passing of BG Olds not only affects his family and those who knew, served and fought with him, but millions of others around the world who only knew of him. Unfortunately I can only claim to have known of him. I had read so much about him as a teenager, and later as an Air Force NCO, that he was always a hero of mine.
If America had more leaders of his caliber today, in corporate and political positions, as well as the military, the world would be in far better shape than it is now. If you don't already know, please take the time to learn as much as you can about who he was and what he did during his long Air Force career. And if you're in any kind of a leadership position, do yourself and those you lead a favor and try to emulate his style. You'll become a far better person for it.
We can take comfort in the knowledge that the heavens are truly safe now that BG Robin Olds is flying CAP in their skies.
elbartoks
USAF Veteran (TAC 1981-1983, USAFE 1983-1990)
June 17, 2007 at 1:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dundalk (anonymous) says...
There's a reason why they were referred to as the "Greatest Generation".
June 17, 2007 at 2:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OneFly (anonymous) says...
And as I have said to others that Robin Olds was one of this country's true heroes we must not forget the others from that generation. What I enjoyed most was being able after watching programs he appeared on ask what I felt to be provocative questions that may be he was not asked before. Always straightforward to the point and most definitely did things outside the box that annoyed his superiors at times. I like that.
I saw an elderly man not long ago get into a new bright red Monte Carlo SS. I had a feeling about this and when I ran across the person who could answer the question whether this man was a World War II veteran and a pilot my hunch turned out to be correct as this episode reminded me of another who I know who has the same credentials and drives fast Chevorlets,
So on this Father's Day my 87-year-old World War II veteran father is a hero to me also. Along with his brother and their friend Bill who at 89 is failing. Rex with 38 missions over Europe all of them are all heroes to me including many who serve now. Men like these have been leaving us at such a fast pace it's only a matter of a few years and there will be none.
On a couple of occasions Mr. Olds said things that disturbed me. Small boy me disagree even in retirement with a brigadier general I don't think so. That thought was not even entertained. The point I want to make here in addition to paying respect is that one can disagree with the mission but still support the troops.
Thanks Robin, thanks Dad for being my hero and happy Father's Day to all the veterans out there.
June 17, 2007 at 5:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Scott_Wedel (Scott Wedel) says...
The Pilot's obituary is weak. Read his Wikipedia entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Olds
In WWII, he and his wingman attacked a squadron of bf109s, estimated at 50 or mo, and he shot down two. In the Vietnam war he retaught dogfighting to his squadron and thought of and led Operation Bolo that crippled the North Vietnam Air Force for months.
Arguably the greatest USAF combat officer ever.
I don't recall him giving a speaking engagement here in SB, if he did, does anyone know where a transcript could be found?
June 18, 2007 at 1:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
clummer (anonymous) says...
I had the distinct honor of serving under then Col. Robin Olds from March 23, 1967 to his departure in September of 1967. I got to Ubon two months after "Operation Bolo", but the Intel folks to which I was assigned were still talking about the success of that mission.
I also had the honor of briefing and debriefing Col. Olds and his flight on a few occassions. I hold in my hand the "flak" from an 85MM AAA that he gave me on one debriefing session when I asked how accurate the AAA was. He tossed the pieces on the table in front of me and asked the question, " Is that f***ing close enough Airman?" I answered in a quivering voice, "Yes, Sir, that is close enough for me." He had picked the flak out of the wing of his F-4.
He was the blueprint of what all fighter pilots should be. He had no regard for superior officers who had not had the experience of combat. He was a renegade whose only mission was to fly and fight.
I got to reunite with him at the TLC Brotherhood meeting in Colorado Springs in the fall of 2000. I met him at the hotel and carried his bags to his room. At that time he still looked 20 years younger than he was. He said he remembered that debriefing. I don't know whether he did or not, but I hope so. After his speech, we retired to the bar, Robin Olds' favorite place to be. We listened to him tell war stories from WWII and Southeast Asia until the wee hours of the morning.
I will never forget this hero, this All-American, this true warrior. His kind will never come around again.
Larry Clum
Maize, KS
8th TFW Intell
1967-1968
August 26, 2007 at 4:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
id04sp (anonymous) says...
"Dogfights" on one of the History channels is featuring Col Olds' engagement with MiG 17s this week.
MiGs had guns. The F-4s did not. Col Olds chased one MiG on a low-level until the MiG had to pop up and make himself visible against the blue sky so that the Sidewinder (AIM-7) missle of that day could "see" the MiG and home on it.
Please note: Col Olds was NOT POST certified.
August 31, 2007 at 7:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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