Archie J. OLD, JR (VETERAN WWII)

LIEUTENANT GENERAL US Air Force
World War II
April 1, 1906 - March 24, 1984


General Archie Jefferson Old, Jr
US Air Force Lieutenant General. A World War II veteran combat bomber pilot, he rose in rank to become the Commander of the 15th Air Force and was the leading commander of the first non-stop round-the-world jet flight of three B-52 Stratofortress aircraft that took place from 16 to 18 January 1957, a total distance of 24,325 miles. After graduating from high school, he studied civil engineering at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. In April 1930 he enlisted as a private in the Texas National Guard and in February 1931 he attended aviation cadet training in the US Army Air Corps at Brooks Field (now closed) and Kelly Field (now Kelly Air Reserve Base, a part of Joint Base San Antonio), Texas and received his pilot wings and commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Reserve in February 1932. He was then assigned to active duty with the 13th Attack Squadron at Fort Crockett, Texas (no longer an Army installation), serving until February 1933. Over the next seven years, he served on active duty for short periods as a reserve officer. In September 1940 he was ordered to extended active duty, at which time he was assigned to the 52d Bombardment Squadron at MacDill Field (now MacDill Air Force Base) Florida as an assistant armament and chemical officer. In February 1941 he became operations officer of the 29th Bombardment Group and moved with them to Gowen Field (now an Air National Guard base), Idaho. In September 1942 he became commander of the 96th Bomb Group at Walla Walla, Washington and the following January, he moved his group to the European Theater of Operations and flew 43 combat missions. On August 14, 1943, (Black Thursday) he led the raid on the Schweinfurt, Germany ball bearing factories, considered to be the largest aerial battle to have ever occurred. 376 B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft were launched, of which 291 made it over target, and 60 failed to return. Five of the returning aircraft crashed in England on landing and 12 that did land were so battle damaged that they were scrapped. The total loss from the mission was over 600 aircrew members and 77 aircraft. In December 1943 he became the commander of the 45th Combat Bomber Wing, 8th Air Force, and in June 1944 he flew the first shuttle bomb run from England to Russia. In July 1945 he returned to the US and was assigned to Headquarters US Army Air Forces at Washington DC. The following month he was transferred to Air Transport Command headquarters at Gravelly Point, Virginia and in December of the same year, he became Commanding General of the Southwest Pacific Wing of Air Transport Command, with additional duty as Commanding General of the China Wing. In June 1948 he became the commander of the 530th Air Transport Wing of Military Air Transport Service (MATS) at Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base (now Travis Air Force Base), California and the following month he was named commander of the Atlantic Division of MATS. In March 1950 he became the deputy commander of the 8th Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base (now Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth), Texas and the following year he became the acting Commanding General of the 7th Air Division at South Ruislip, England, followed by the Commanding General of the 5th Air Division at Rabat, French Morocco. In February 1953 he returned to the US was assigned as Director of Operations for Headquarters Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. In August 1955 he became Commander of the 15th Air Force at March Air Force Base (now March Air Reserve Base), California and retired in this position in September 1965 at the rank of lieutenant general with 35 years of continuous military service. His military and foreign decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star with 1 oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 4 oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with 8 oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the American Defense Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the French Legion d'honneur, the French Croix de guerre with palm, the French Moroccan Order of Ouissam Alaouite, the Belgian Croix de guerre with palm, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Russian Order of Suvorov. He was rated a command pilot. He played himself in "Massacre," a 1966 episode of the ABC television drama series "Twelve O'Clock High." He died at the March Air Force Base hospital at the age of 77. The Lieutenant General Archie J. Old, Jr. Golf Course, located across from March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, was named in his honor. (bio by: William Bjornstad)

Contributed on 8/2/17 by gr2rumble
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Record #: 129365

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