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Hewitt T. ‘Shorty’ Wheless and Boyd T. ‘Buzz’ Wagner: World War II Fighter Pilots
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Aviation History |
Wagner was now tasked with training the stream of new, green fighter pilots coming to Australia from the United States. In that role, Wagner did fly in combat one more time, on April 30, 1942, when he accompanied a group of his students on a raid to Lae, New Guinea. Flying a Bell P-39 Airacobra on that occasion, he shot down three Zeros, making him the top ace in the Pacific theater at the time.
Tragically, Buzz Wagner died later that same year in an accident during a routine flight. On November 29, while he was piloting a plane between Eglin Field, Fla., and Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., his aircraft went down, and he was killed.
As for our other forgotten hero, Hewitt Wheless, when he retired from the military in June 1968 as a lieutenant general, he was serving as the assistant chief of staff of the Air Force. He died of natural causes on September 7 of that year.
Both Wheless and Wagner typified the kind of heroic warriors that Americans were eager to recognize early on in World War II, when the Japanese were experiencing success after success against ill-prepared U.S. forces in the Pacific. Acting with determination in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, these two pilots managed to exact a measure of punishment from one of the United States’ most potent enemies — and their country responded with gratitude.
On December 29, 1941, Life magazine published ‘Boyd Wagner’s Story: America’s First Ace Tells How He Shot Down First Two Planes.’ On February 16, 1942, the magazine initiated what it called a ‘Roll of Honor,’ containing the names and photographs of American servicemen honored by Life for their acts of heroism in the war. Interestingly enough, of the 18 men honored in the February 16 issue, nine were pilots, including Colin Kelly. Hewitt Wheless was honored in the March 16 issue and Buzz Wagner on April 20, after he became the first official American ace of the war.
This article was written by Donald J. Young and originally published in the July 2002 issue of Aviation History Magazine.
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Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6            Tags: Aerial Combat, Aviation History, Historical Conflicts, World War II
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2 Comments to “Hewitt T. ‘Shorty’ Wheless and Boyd T. ‘Buzz’ Wagner: World War II Fighter Pilots”
Mr. Wheless was a great man. Would sure like to get a clear copy of the movie in which he appeared in, a true story. Only one mistake, the narrator Ronald Reagan read from the script saying the pressure in the altitude chamber was “building up,” when im fact such a chamber DEcreases the pressure.
By paul and jean on Jul 13, 2008 at 1:56 pm
As for our other forgotten hero, Hewitt Wheless, when he retired from the military in June 1968 as a lieutenant general, he was serving as the assistant chief of staff of the Air Force. He died of natural causes on September 7 of that year.
Not exactly. He did not die in 1968 but lived another 18 years. He died in Sept. 1986, one month short of his 73rd birthday. Ironically It was not the Japs but cigarettes that killed him.
By doggie on Jul 13, 2008 at 10:39 pm