Five years later, young Robin flew for the first time when his father took him up in an open-cockpit biplane. "[98] Olds started the mustache in the wake of the success of Operation Bolo and let it grow beyond regulation length because "It became the middle finger I couldn't raise in the PR photographs. In early 1944 he became part of the cadre assigned to build up the newly activated 434th Fighter Squadron and its parent 479th Fighter Group, based at Lomita, California. Five P-51s made a pass on the airdrome that April day. He pointed out on occasion that he had never received a Purple Heart, but he did come close. As a Colonel, I had to check with some general for permission to visit the latrine., Unlike many pilots who regarded airplanes as tools, Olds could be sentimental about his machines. When the leaders were only interested in suiting up, he exercised some initiative. [94], The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Colonel Robin Olds (AFSN: 0-26046), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving as Strike Mission Commander in the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, against the Paul Doumer Bridge, a major north-south transportation link on Hanoi's Red River in North Vietnam, on 11 August 1967. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Brigadier General Robin Olds' next assignment was as Commandant of . Copyright 2003-2021. His mother, Eloise Karine Oldys (ne Wichman; 18961926), died when Robin was four and he was raised by his father. On the evening of June 14, 2007 he died from congestive heart failure in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, a month before his 85th birthday. [9][10][11][12][13], Growing up primarily at Langley Field, Virginia,[14] Olds virtually made daily contact with the small group of officers who would lead the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II (one neighbor was Major Carl Spaatz, destined to become the first Chief of Staff of the USAF),[15] and as a result was imbued with an unusually strong dedication to the air service, and conversely, with a low tolerance for officers who did not exhibit the same. [68], Olds was assigned to command the 71st Fighter Squadron, which was soon detached from the 1st FG to the Air Defense Command and based at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport in Pennsylvania. Show more. He found what he feared: most Air Force fighter crews couldnt fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Commander John Nichols, a Navy MiG killer brought to Udorn, Thailand to teach dogfighting to the Air Force blue suits, saw Olds taxi his F-4 into the chocks after a practice mission. [69] Discouraged and at odds with the Air Force, in which he was seen as an iconoclast, Olds reportedly was in the process of resigning when he was talked out of it by a mentor, Maj Gen Frederic H. Smith Jr., who brought him to work at Eastern Air Defense Command headquarters at Stewart AFB, New York. General Olds has been an inspiration to many people throughout his lifetime. They married in Beverly Hills on February 6, 1947, and had two daughters, Christina and Susan, and a son, Robert Ernest, who was stillborn in 1958. Your orders have to be legal and proper. [19], Instead of entering college after graduating in 1939, Olds enrolled at Millard Preparatory School for West Point in Washington, D.C., a school established to prepare men for the entrance examinations to the military academies. [21], As a plebe, Olds played football on a freshman squad that began the season with three losses but finished 341 while the varsity won only one game in its second consecutive losing season. Tags: 434th Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, Bf-109, Col. Zemke, College Football Hall of Fame, Colonel Robin Olds, Eighth Air Force, European Theater of Operations, Focke Wulf, Henry "Hap" Arnold, Maj. September 26, 2022 by John Groove. [94], In February 1971 he began his last duty assignment as director of aerospace safety in the Office of the Inspector General, Headquarters USAF, and after December 1971 as part of the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, a newly activated separate operating agency located at Norton Air Force Base, California. [119], In March 2007 Olds was hospitalized in Colorado for complications of Stage 4 prostate cancer. The Bf 109 passed beneath him and as he rolled the nose down he fired, taking the Bf 109 out before heading home. Robin Hugh Gibb was born on 22 December 1949 in Jane Crookall Maternity Home in Douglas, Isle of Man, to Barbara Gibb (ne Pass) and Hugh Gibb.He was the fraternal twin of Maurice Gibb and was the older of the two by 35 minutes. Big pieces flew off, flame and smoke poured out, and the airplane rolled off to the right. His fourth MiG kill in Vietnam was recreated in the season 2 episode "No Room For Error". At about 4,000ft (1,200m), the Jerry, still way out of my range, turned under me and slightly to the right. Legendary fighter pilot Robin Olds dies Published June 15, 2007 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Legendary fighter pilot, retired Brig. Olds scored his first kill on August 14, 1944, when he turned a Focke-Wulf 190 into a fiery German-filled inferno, but it was on a particularly balls-out mission 11 days later that Captain Robin Olds truly made a name for himself as a man that needed to have a special flight suit constructed just to contain his ridiculously-oversized steel testicles. His mother, Eloise, died when he was 4. Olds ruled over a fiefdom like a feudal baron, enjoying the excitement of the hunt by day and discussing the great game with his men at arms by night. His mother, his father's first wife, Eloise Karine Wichman Nott (1896-1926), died when Robin was four and he was raised by his father. His Air Force Cross Citation reads: He began cleaning house. By Kayla Keegan Updated: Jan 4, 2023. Glen A. Wold, said that he showed an immediate interest in aircraft maintenance and learned emergency servicing under Wold. Army's record in 1941 was 531, with wins over The Citadel, VMI, Yale, Columbia, and West Virginia, a scoreless tie with Notre Dame, and losses to Harvard, Penn and Navy. "[99] Returning home, however, marked the end of this flamboyance. Ralph Wetterhahn, a future MiG killer. Postwar after VE-Day, he returned to the States and reverted to his permanent rank: a 23-year-old Captain. This was blocked by his father who forced him to stay at Millard. Called Operation Bolo, the trap entailed use of radar-jamming devices and other tactics to make faster, more maneuverable F-4s appear to be the slower F-105s used for bombing missions. Beside the case was a fire ax beneath a sign reading: In case of war, break glass.. He became the only person enshrined in both the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Following a low-level bridge-bombing mission to Montmirail, France, on August 14, Olds shot down his first German aircraft, a pair of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. Under Olds predecessor, who seldom flew combat, the 8th had eked out a meager kill-loss ratio. 146 AFHRA, Brigadier General Robin Olds. [67], Olds went to England under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force Exchange Program in 1948. As the second plane pulled a full 360 turn, Olds stayed with him. Nov 09, 2021 01:40 P.M. [74] From November 1959 to March 1960, his section worked intensely to develop a program reducing the entire structure of the ADC with the purpose of generating $6.5 billion for classified funding to develop the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.reconnaissance aircraft. When the 479ths first commander was shot down in August 1944, Hub Zemke moved over from the fabled 56th Fighter Group and rejuvenated the Mighty Eighths last fighter outfit. Air Force pilots, he reported to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen John D. Ryan (a former SAC general and bomber pilot often at odds with the tactical fighter community), "couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag," because of a systemic lack of interest by the USAF in air-to-air combat training for fighter crews. Olds and Herbst performed a two-ship aerobatic routine that thrilled the crowds at every stop, the highlight being a three-day layover in Washington, D.C. With 17 career victories (thirteen in WW II plus four in Vietnam) when the triple ace died, he was Americas third-ranking living ace. It was more about people he knew.. Olds commanded the wing until July 26, 1965. [23], In 1942 he was named by Collier's Weekly as its "Lineman of the Year" and by Grantland Rice as "Player of the Year." James flew 78 combat missions into North Vietnam and helped Olds to plan and lead the famed . The New York Times that May called him everybodys choice as the hottest pilot of the Vietnam War, and last year the History Channel televised a computer animation, complete with his commentary, of his big Vietnam battle. Olds next was given command of the Air Defense Commands 71st Fighter Squadron based at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport. In other words, he went freelance. [55], His final World War II aerial kill occurred on April 7, 1945, when Olds in Scat VI led the 479th Fighter Group on a mission escorting B-24s bombing an ammunition dump in Lneburg, Germany. As recognized by the American Fighter Aces Association, Olds was the only pilot to "make ace" in both the P-38 (5 victories) and the P-51 (8 victories). In contrast by June, as Olds had predicted, the Air Force's fighter community was struggling with a nearly 1:1kill-loss ratio. He considered it a dangerously wasteful effort, as the mill had been hit repeatedly, but its smokestacks had remained standing. Chris Hemsworth 's wife Elsa Pataky had a few words to say about the rumours that Miley Cyrus ' song "Flowers" is about her brother-in-law Liam Hemsworth. He passed the West Point entrance examination and was accepted into the Class of 1944 on June 1, 1940. Brig. Pataky addressed the hit tune . This required some adjustment on Olds part as the single-engine Mustang handled differently than the twin-engine Lightning. On this week's episode of her podcast "I've Got a Secret! The Vietnam War "proved the need to teach tactical warfare and have fighter pilots. #RezaNorouzi, his wife & kids were arrested 2yrs ago His sons were 2 y/o and 2 months old at the time His wife and sons were in solitary confinement for 2 months The IR regime didn't provide powdered milk so they had to feed the baby cheese. Lincoln's wife and Spider-Man's aunt," Field . You cant teach it. Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and two brothers, Barry and Andy. After her fathers death, Christina spent years combing through her fathers notes, diaries and unfinished memoir to complete a captivating, intimate memoir of the consummate fighter pilot. Robin Olds was born on the 14th of July, 1922. Robin Olds, a retired Air Force brigadier general renowned for his exploits as a fighter pilot in World War II and Vietnam, has died at 84. Years later, Wetterhahn compared Olds arrival with that of Brig. [3] He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general, after 30 years of service. Olds observed a Bf 109 of Sonderkommando Elbe attack the bombers and shoot down a B-24. I was the only one to return homeWhen I tested the stall characteristics of my wounded bird over our home airfield, I found it quit flying at a little over 175mph (282km/h) indicated and rolled violently into the dead wing (note: the right flap had been blown away and two large holes knocked in the same wing). Scat XXVII (F-4C-24-MC 64-0829), the plane he flew for his four MiG kills, was retired from operational service and placed on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, with the four red MiG stars representing his four MiG kills in Vietnam painted on the splitter vane of the intake. Operation Bolo, and P-38 dogfights Olds experienced were recreated using computer animation in the episode "Air Ambush", of The History Channel Dogfights series, first telecast on November 10, 2006. Olds returned to the game and reportedly was cheered by the Navy Third and Fourth Classes, which were assigned as the Army cheering section when wartime travel restrictions prevented the Corps of Cadets from attending. And when he could not wrangle a combat assignment in the Korean War, he participated in transcontinental jet races and flew with the Air Forces first aerobatic demonstration team. She is currently not legally married, however, confirmed on Jan. 2 she plans to wed Amber in 2023 Robin has been in a longtime. Brig. Scat XXVII (F-4C-24-MC 64-0829) was retired from operational service and placed on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The son of an Army Air Corps general, Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 - June 14, 2007) is best known as a Triple Ace combat pilot who was willing to break a few rules to get the job done. Robin Olds was previously married to Ella Raines (1947 - 1976).. About. Dressed in a child-size air service uniform, he watched his father testify on Mitchells behalf. The class originally designated the Class of 1943 graduated January 19, 1943, as the, Had Olds completed the standard four-year Academy course, he would have been compelled by his height to become a bomber pilot after the AAF imposed height limitations on new fighter pilots to 5'08" [1.73m] or shorter in early 1944. The man was bigger than life and reading his memoir will confirm all the amazing stories about this legendary fighter pilot. The Air Force said the cause was congestive heart failure. Robin Olds (July 14th, 1922 - June 14th, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. GOOD Morning America star Robin Roberts has admitted her gratitude for her GMA co-anchors in a new post on social media. A stunning success, Operation Bolo effectively eliminated the MiG threat for most of the spring of 1967. Implemented in January 1967, the operation saw American aircraft down seven MiG-21s, with Olds shooting down one. Olds' class was given an abridged second class course of study until January 19, 1943, when it began an abridged first class course. Olds pursued the Bf 109 through the formation, and shot it down.[58]. [22], Olds played on the varsity college football team in both 1941 and 1942. In a gesture of individuality, he grew an enormous, meticulously waxed handlebar mustache. From dead astern, he fired a five-second burst and observed many hits. The engagement marked the only combat appearance of Sonderkommando Elbe, a German Air Force squadron formed to ram Allied bombers. He was liberated when the war with Germany ended. He retired in 1973 as a Brigadier General of the United States Air Force (USAF) after 30 years of service. Instagram/RobinRobertsGMAGMA's Robin Roberts flaunted her figure in a tight pink dress with sexy lace[/caption] Instagram/RobinRobertsGMARobin's dress was the color of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. [89], After an intensive planning, maintenance, and briefing period, the mission was scheduled for January 1, 1967. [37], Olds was promoted to first lieutenant on December 1, 1943. As he wryly noted long afterward, When I shot down my first two airplanes I was relieved to see that they had black crosses on their wings.. 1 Squadron at Royal Air Force Station Tangmere between October 20, 1948, and September 25, 1949,[61] the first foreigner to command an RAF unit in peacetime. Good Morning Americ a star Robin Roberts and her partner, Amber Raign, appear to be as happy as ever. By this time I was traveling in excess of 500mph (800km/h). He later reflected on the hazards of such missions: I was hit by flak as I was pulling out of a dive-strafing pass on an airfield called Tarnewitz, up on the Baltic. Upon return to the U.S., Olds was acclaimed as Americas top gun of the war to date, a record he retained for the next five years. On August 25, during an escort mission to Wismar, Germany, Olds shot down three Messerschmitt Bf 109s to become the squadrons first ace, making him the last P-38 ace of the Eighth Air Force and the last in the European Theater of Operations. He is buried at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addressing newly commissioned officers he said, The airman swears that he will obey the orders of the officers appointed over him. He stood before the F-4C Phantom crews and said, Im going to start here by flying Green Sixteen (tail-end Charlie) and you guys are going to teach me how. Olds next became commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters, England, a McDonnell F-101 Voodoo fighter-bomber wing, on September 8, 1963. [94], Air Force Inspector General and Olds' West Point classmate Lt Gen Louis L. Wilson Jr. sent Olds to Southeast Asia in the autumn of 1971 to determine the state of readiness of Air Force pilots. [60] He flew his final combat mission over North Vietnam on September 23, 1967. He asserted that his superior at Third Air Force attempted to have him court-martialed, but the commander of USAFE, General Gabriel P. Disosway, instead authorized his removal from command of the 81st TFW, cancellation of a recommended Legion of Merit award, and transfer to the headquarters of the Ninth Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Christina Olds is the daughter of Robin Olds, an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. Completing the course of study, Olds was accepted to West Point in July 1940 and played for the renowned coach Red Blaik, compiling so stellar a record as a tackle on both offense and defense that in 1985 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. [80], On September 30, 1966, Olds took command of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. and a leading advocate of strategic bombing in the Air Corps. OLDS ROBIN: (1922-2007) American fighter pilot, a 'triple ace' with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. [89], On May 4, Olds destroyed another MiG-21 over Phc Yn. Receiving his wings from Gen. Henry Hap Arnold, Olds graduated from West Point on June 1, 1943, after completing the academys accelerated wartime curriculum. His 259 total combat missions included 107 in World War II and 152 in Southeast Asia, 105 of those over North Vietnam. View military histories of over 2 million, If you are a veteran, reconnect with people. Legendary British Singer Robin Gibb was a doting father who dearly wanted to be present in his kids' lives. [6][7][8] He had one younger brother, Stevan Meigs (19241988), two younger paternal half-brothers, Sterling Meigs "Dusty" (19351995) and Frederick A. He was assigned to the European theater, where he flew 107 missions and was credited with destruction of 11 aircraft on the ground another pilot assisted in destroying one of them in addition to the dozen he shot from the sky. [66] Later that same year Olds took second place in the Thompson Trophy Race (Jet Division) of the Cleveland National Air Races at Brook Park, Ohio, over the Labor Day weekend. [3] He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general, after 30 years of service. Made Deputy Chief, Air Defense Division at the Pentagon in 1958, Olds produced as series of prophetic papers calling for improved air-to-air combat training and the increased production of conventional munitions. He is survived by two daughters, Christina Olds of Vail, Colo., and Susan Scott-Risner of North Bend, Wash.; a half-brother, Fred Olds of Virginia Beach; and a granddaughter, Jennifer Newman of Santa Monica, Calif. General Olds once said his magnificent mustache represented his defiance. Olds wears USAF flight gear typical of the 1967 time frame, including: K-2B Flying Suit, CSU-3/P Anti-G Suit, SRU-21/P Survival Vest, PCU-3/P Torso Harness, B-3A Gloves, and a Pilot's Survival Knife. A later marriage, to Morgan Olds, ended in divorce. He also reasoned that the drag of the pod would both degrade the performance characteristics of the F-4 while not gaining it any advantage against the more maneuverable MiG-17s and MiG-21s, result in unnecessary losses strafing worthless targets, and reduce the number of bombs carried by the Phantoms, the delivery of which was the 8th's primary mission.[102]. Robin Olds was a "triple ace" American fighter pilot with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Leaving the 8th TFW in September 1967, Olds was made Commandant of Cadets at the US Air Force Academy. Olds did not want to live in that world. In 1946, while based at March Field, Olds met Hollywood actress (and pin-up girl) Ella Raines on a blind date in Palm Springs. Retiring to Steamboat Springs, CO, he became active in public affairs. [24], Olds developed ambivalent feelings about West Point, admiring its dedication to "Duty, Honor, Country", but disturbed by the tendency of many tactical officers to distort the purpose of its Honor Code. I knew McConnell understood. Olds had a highly publicized career and life, including marriage to Hollywood actressElla Raines. In an effort to raise morale in the 8th TFW, he began growing a famed handlebar mustache. And the wife of talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is finally revealing the secret to her youthful look. [115], In his retirement at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Olds pursued his love of skiing and served on the city's planning commission. Olds was promoted tobrigadier generalafter returning from Vietnam and became Commandant of Cadets at theUnited States Air Force Academy. Robin Olds dating history Relationships. Brig. With the end of the war in Europe in May, Olds tally stood at 12 kills as well as 11.5 destroyed on the ground. Deciding on a military career at the age of 12, Olds attended Hampton High School in Hampton Virginia where he became a standout football player. Over Btzow, undetected by the Germans, Olds and his wingman jettisoned their fuel drop tanks and attacked, although the second element of the flight had been unable to keep up during the climb.[43]. [120], Olds is remembered as the Class Exemplar of the Academy Class of 2011, which had begun Basic Cadet Training, the first step towards becoming Air Force officers, two days before Olds' funeral.[121]. Olds returned to West Point, hoping to graduate early and see action in the war. U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Retired Brig. ChristinaOlds is the daughter of Robin Olds, an Americanfighter pilotand general officer in theU.S. Air Force. Despite the drama in his love life, he wanted every loved one to be financially well off after his passing. The couple started dating in 2005. He was a triple ace, with a combined total of 16victories inWorld War IIand theVietnam War. It was a common superstition among airmen to grow a "bulletproof mustache",[96][97] but Olds also used his as "a gesture of defiance. Through a career in the United States Air Force spanning 30 years, plus 34 years of active retirement, Robin Olds led a remarkable and exemplary life. His father died of pneumonia on April 28, 1943, after hospitalization for constrictive pericarditis and Libman-Sacks endocarditis,[108][109] at the age of 46, just prior to Olds' graduation from West Point.[110]. He retired in 1973 as abrigadier general. He brought three-year-old Robin with him to court, dressed in an Air Service uniform, and posed with him for newspaper photographers before testifying. [54] Promoted to major on February 9, 1945, Olds claimed his seventh victory southeast of Magdeburg, Germany the same day, downing another Bf 109. Turning to investigate, Olds saw pairs of Me 262s turn towards and dive on the Liberators. Olds logged 650hours of flying time during training, including 250hours in the P-38 Lightning, as the 479th built its proficiency as a combat group. General Olds went on to serve in many countries and positions, including assignments to Air Force headquarters and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He nursed his crippled Mustang back to base but found that it stalled at 175 mph, rolling violently. Colonel Olds' Air Force assignments took Susan and her family to South Carolina, England, North Africa, Washington D.C,. [4], Olds was promoted to brigadier general after returning from Vietnam but did not hold another major command. Husband/ Wife: Under Review: Child/ Kids: Not Available: Total Children . Naturally he wanted to follow in their footsteps. If you are a fighter pilot, you have to be willing to take risks.. The unit was under the command of then-Col. Robin Olds, who James knew from working at the Pentagon. Increasing concerned about F-105 Thunderchief losses to North Vietnamese MiGs during bombing missions, Olds designed Operation Bolo in late 1966. He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general, after 30 years of service. If you ever wanted to fly a P-51 Mustang in combat over Germany or shoot down a MiG over North Vietnam flying your F-4 Phantom, reading this is the closest you can get without actually doing it. Air Force/Royal Air Force Academy the cause was congestive Heart failure it was more about people knew. Up, he began growing a famed handlebar mustache pointed out on occasion that he had never a! To her youthful look Operation Bolo effectively eliminated the MiG threat for most of the United States Air Force sister. States and reverted to his permanent rank: a 23-year-old Captain Joint Chiefs of Staff he will obey the of... Base but found that it stalled at 175 mph, rolling violently and positions including... 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