Frederick Payne, a retired Marine Corps brigadier general who was honored for his exploits as a fighter pilot in the Pacific in World War II, died on Aug. 6 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 104 and the oldest of America’s surviving fighter aces.
And how long did it take him to be an Ace?
During
two and a half weeks in 1942, from behind the guns of his Grumman F4F
Wildcat flying over the Pacific near Guadalcanal, Mr. Payne, a major at
the time, downed three Japanese bombers and two Zero fighters, having
already shared credit with another pilot for bringing down an enemy
bomber.
When
he was awarded the Navy Cross, the citation read in part: “Throughout
that strenuous period when the island airfield was under constant
bombardment and our precarious ground positions were menaced by the
desperate counterthrusts of a fanatical foe, Major Payne repeatedly
patrolled hostile territory and intercepted enemy bombing flights,”
downing six aircraft in “five vigorous fights against tremendous odds.”
He was also awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
This guy's story is awesome.
Frederick
Rounsville Payne Jr., known as Fritz, was born in Elmira, N.Y., on July
31, 1911. His father was a United States Naval Academy graduate who
served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. His mother was the
former Ethel Louise Gorton.
He
was raised in Indianapolis and attended the Naval Academy, but after
two years transferred to the University of Arizona, graduating in
January 1935. Hoping to become a flyer, Mr. Payne enlisted in the Marine
Corps, was commissioned a second lieutenant and logged his first solo
flight at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on July 1, 1935.
The
day after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he embarked for Midway
Island aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga as a member of Marine Fighter Squadron
221.
Frederick Payne, Decorated Fighter Ace in the Pacific, Dies at 104
Photo
Frederick Payne, a retired Marine Corps brigadier general, celebrating his 100th birthday, in 2011.Credit
Denise Goolsby/The Desert Sun, via Associated Press
Frederick Payne, a retired Marine Corps brigadier general who was honored for his exploits as a fighter pilot in the Pacific in World War II, died on Aug. 6 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 104 and the oldest of America’s surviving fighter aces.
His son Robert confirmed his death.
During
two and a half weeks in 1942, from behind the guns of his Grumman F4F
Wildcat flying over the Pacific near Guadalcanal, Mr. Payne, a major at
the time, downed three Japanese bombers and two Zero fighters, having
already shared credit with another pilot for bringing down an enemy
bomber.
When
he was awarded the Navy Cross, the citation read in part: “Throughout
that strenuous period when the island airfield was under constant
bombardment and our precarious ground positions were menaced by the
desperate counterthrusts of a fanatical foe, Major Payne repeatedly
patrolled hostile territory and intercepted enemy bombing flights,”
downing six aircraft in “five vigorous fights against tremendous odds.”
He was also awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Photo
Mr. Payne received the Navy Cross as a World War II pilot in the Pacific.
The
surviving aces were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in May in
a ceremony in Washington. Like about half of the recipients, Mr. Payne
was too frail to attend. He received his medal at the Palm Springs Air
Museum in California.
With Mr. Payne’s death, there are 71 surviving aces, said Arthur Bednar, coordinator of the American Fighter Aces Association.
According
to Mr. Bednar, only 1,450 American pilots qualified to be called ace, a
distinction reserved for pilots who downed at least five enemy planes
in aerial combat during World Wars I and II and the wars in Korea and
Vietnam; in addition, six aces are recognized from the Russian Civil
War, the Spanish Civil War, the Sino-Japanese War and the Arab-Israeli
War. Mr. Payne was credited with five and a half kills.
Frederick
Rounsville Payne Jr., known as Fritz, was born in Elmira, N.Y., on July
31, 1911. His father was a United States Naval Academy graduate who
served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. His mother was the
former Ethel Louise Gorton.
He
was raised in Indianapolis and attended the Naval Academy, but after
two years transferred to the University of Arizona, graduating in
January 1935. Hoping to become a flyer, Mr. Payne enlisted in the Marine
Corps, was commissioned a second lieutenant and logged his first solo
flight at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on July 1, 1935.
The
day after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he embarked for Midway
Island aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga as a member of Marine Fighter Squadron
221.
While
he saw combat throughout the Pacific, from the Aleutians to New Guinea,
Mr. Payne recalled that his only brush with death was when, suffering
from malaria, he vomited in his oxygen mask and passed out. He recovered
as his plunging plane passed 8,000 feet, but managed to pull out and
land safely.
He
served in Korea in 1952, was involved in testing atomic weapons in 1957
and retired in 1958. He worked for Southern California Edison until
1976.
His
wife, Dorothy, died in 2011. In addition to his son Robert, survivors
include another son, DeWitt; a daughter, Ann Wilson Payne; and three
grandchildren.
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