Editor’s note:
This episode is also mentioned in Capt. Wetmore’s
Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_S._Wetmore
Raymond S. Wetmore
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Raymond S. Wetmore (30
September 1923 - 14 February 1951) was a leading
U.S. Army ace of World War II.
Born in Kerman, California,
Wetmore enlisted in the Army in November 1941 at
age 18 and entered pilot training eight months later. Upon
commissioning in
March 1943 he joined the new 359th Fighter Group which was sent
to England in
October that year. Flying with the 370th Fighter Squadron, in
February and
March 1944 Wetmore scored his first 4.25 victories flying the
Republic
P-47 Thunderbolt. Upon conversion to P-51 Mustangs the group
ranged farther
afield and Wetmore became a 20-year-old ace with a double
victory on May 19,
downing two Me-109s. At month's end his tally was 8.25. At
year's end he was a
captain with nearly 15 kills, flying a Mustang named Daddy's
Girl.
During World War II, Wetmore
had a funny story during the Battle of the Bulge.
Wetmore and his wingman, Lieutenant John F. McAlevey,
were sent to the
Battle of the Bulge. American gunners on the ground were told to
shoot at
anything they heard. The problem was, it was extremely cloudy,
so American
gunners shot at their own planes as well as German planes. As
Wetmore was
flying, incendiary ground fire hit his wing and his wing lit on fire,
but Wetmore didn't notice. His wingman, McAlevey, shouted "Smack,
this is
'the Bum', you have been hit, you are burning under your left
wing"
McAlevey, who had not
been
hit, landed his plane elsewhere in France, refueled and
returned to England late that
evening.
Upon return from leave in the
U.S., then-Captain Wetmore scored steadily from
November 1944 to January 1945. In that period he downed 12 more
enemy
fighters including 4.5 FW-190s on January 14th. His final
victory was a rocket powered
Me-163 on March 15. His final score was 21.25 destroyed and one
damaged in aerial combat, highest score in the 359th Group and
eighth best of
all Americans in the European Theater. On VE-Day he was a
21-year-old major.
As a major, Wetmore commanded
the 59th Fighter Squadron at Otis Air Force
Base, Massachusetts. There he was killed in the crash of an F-86
Sabre on
Valentine's Day 1951. He was 27 years old, leaving a widow and
four children.
Wetmore's decorations included two Distinguished Service
Crosses, two Silver
Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses and a dozen Air Medals.
|
References
* Dr. Frank Olynyk
(1995. Stars & Bars: A Tribute to the American
Fighter Ace
1920-1973. Grub Street, London.
External links
* http://members.tripod.com/~manchurianhitchcock/otis.html
* http://www.midwestaero.com/articles/daddysgirl.pdf
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_S._Wetmore"
Categories: American
World War II flying aces | United States Air Force
officers | Recipients of US Distinguished Flying Cross |
Recipients of the
Silver Star medal | Recipients of US Distinguished
Service Cross |
American military personnel of World War II. |
Editor’s note:
Ace Wetmore died tragically in a
fiery crash in Cape Cod only 6 years after the events at
Remagen Bridge. His young wingman, McAlevey, flew civil aviation
for many years
and walked away from a crash of an AutoGyro onto a landfill in
Rockland county, NY.
and a crash landing on the east slope of
Hunter Mountain in Ulster Country, N.Y.
John is an honorary Life Member of the radio-controlled model
airplane club in Essex County, NY.
