Her husband has three children from a previous relationship;[112], Robert Ernest Olds, who was stillborn in 1958. Seen as a rising star, Olds was selected for a U.S. Air Force-Royal Air Force exchange program in 1948. In an effort to raise morale in the 8th TFW, he began growing a famed handlebar mustache. TogetherWeServed.com Inc. All Rights Reserved | Not a U.S. Government Website. In 1978, Robin Olds married his second wife, Abigail Morgan Sellers Barnett. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he received an assignment to report to the West Coast for training on P-38 Lightnings. VPAF fighter activity diminished to almost nothing for 10 weeks afterwards, thereby accomplishing the main goal of Operation Bolo: to eliminate or diminish the threat of MiGs to the strike formations. James flew 78 combat missions into North Vietnam and helped Olds to plan and lead the famed . Robin Olds (1922-2007) was a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. After damaging one of the jets in a chase meant to lure the fighter escort away from the bombers, the Mustangs returned to the bomber stream. Olds was promoted tobrigadier generalafter returning from Vietnam and became Commandant of Cadets at theUnited States Air Force Academy. Olds did not want to live in that world. He is also remembered for his extravagantly waxed and non-regulation handlebar moustache he wore during his tour in Southeast Asia,. When is Robin Roberts Marrying? Olds used to say that the two best things about World War II were London and Col. Zemke. He became an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School between 1928 and 1931, the crucial period when the theory of strategic bombardment achieved ascendancy within the Air Corps as the most effective use of airpower. Robin Olds was born on the 14th of July, 1922. "[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. Dubbing his P-38J aircraft the Scat II (every fighter he flew in combat was named Scat and numbered sequentially), Olds worked closely with his crew chief to learn about aircraft maintenance. Col Olds had several general assemblies with the support staff and they were always motivational. He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general. Olds oversaw the creation of policies, standards, and procedures for Air Force accident prevention programs, and dealt with work safety education, workplace accident investigation and analysis, and safety inspections. I was assigned to Base Operations and they were both frequent visitors. Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and two brothers, Barry and Andy. Robin Olds, known for his brash personality, became an endearing figure thanks to his leadership, forward-thinking in aerial warfare and love for fellow Air Force pilots. Olds was a team player as long as the team wanted to play. Because do you know what that is? Despite her impressively long resume, she'll probably always be best remembered for her role in . Do you realize what responsibilities that put on your shoulders? Olds had administrative and staff duty assignments at the Pentagon between 1958 and 1962 as the Deputy Chief, Air Defense Division, Headquarters USAF. Rising to the command of two fighter wings, Olds is regarded among aviation historians, and his peers, as the best wing commander of the Vietnam War, for both his air-fighting skills, and his reputation as a combat leader. A month before the fall of Nazi Germany, Maj. Robin Olds of the 479th Fighter Group, U.S. Army Air Forces, scored his final aerial victory of World War II, chasing a Messerschmitt 109 through a formation of B-24 Liberator bombers and shooting it down. Olds time at West Point proved brief as many older officers resented his rapid rise in rank during the war. [67], Olds went to England under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force Exchange Program in 1948. He remained in the service as it became theUnited States Air Force, despite often being at odds with its leadership, and was one of its pioneer jet pilots. [62][78], In September 1966, Olds was tapped to command an McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom wing in Southeast Asia. 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. In a few weeks, Zemke turned things around and added to Robins already formidable determination to succeed as a shooter and a leader. [73] In this assignment he prepared a number of papers, iconoclastic at the time, which soon became prophetic, including identifying the need for upgraded conventional munitions (foretelling the "bomb shortage" of the Vietnam War), and the lack of any serious tactical air training in conventional warfare. YoutTube/Nation Press FoundationRobin Roberts said she's 'grateful for all of her . The 81st TFW was a major combat unit in United States Air Forces Europe, having both a tactical nuclear and conventional bombing role supporting NATO. 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. Under Olds, the Wolfpack shot to the top of the Southeast Asia league, bagging 18 MiGs, and when he left, the wings kill ratio stood at 4-1. He was a stepbrother of famed author, Gore Vidal. Compute answers using Wolfram's breakthrough technology & knowledgebase, relied on by millions of students & professionals. Olds replied, "Yes, sir.". Robin Olds [1] (July 14, 1922 - June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. En route he arranged with the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, (where Col. James was now Deputy Commander of Operations) to be checked out in the Phantom, completing the 14-step syllabus in just five days. [22], Olds played on the varsity college football team in both 1941 and 1942. Cadets applying to the Air Corps were classified as Air Cadets, with a modified curriculum which provided flying training but eliminated Military Topography and Graphics required for Ground Cadets. He also insisted his aircraft be waxed to reduce air resistance and helped his maintenance crew carry out their tasks. The MiG losses were the highest suffered in one day by the North Vietnamese during the war. For math, science, nutrition, history . Her earliest memory was the Transatlantic crossing from New York to England on the Queen Mary. He warned that losses would be severe in any resumption of aerial combat. I tried to contact the flight to get myself recognized, but observed an Me 109 making a pass at me from about seven o'clock high. The incident left its mark on Olds such that when he became Commandant of Cadets at the Air Force Academy, use of the Honor Code as an instrument for integrity rather than as a tool for petty enforcement of discipline became a point of emphasis in his administration. He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general. 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. A woman named Robyn appeared as a model back in 1997 on the series Just Shoot Me. Over the next few months, Olds continued to personally lead his men into combat. Receiving his wings from Gen. Henry Hap Arnold, Olds graduated from West Point on June 1, 1943, after completing the academys accelerated wartime curriculum. As children in Manchester, Gibb and his brothers began committing crimes such . It was the best assignment I had during my almost 12 years in the USAF. This required some adjustment on Olds part as the single-engine Mustang handled differently than the twin-engine Lightning. The wing had converted to the F101 and he loved to show us what it could do during annual air shows. Robin Olds was born in Honolulu, HI on July 14, 1922. USAF biography, Photostatic copy of Olds' victory claim report of 14 Feb 45 with links to other reports, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing Vietnam Era Website, Memorial Service for Brigadier General Robin Olds @ U.S. Air Force Academy, 30 June 2007, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robin_Olds&oldid=1118555116, United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II, United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War, Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United States), Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France), Recipients of the Distinguished Service Order (Vietnam), Pages using college Football HoF with unknown parameters, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 October 2022, at 17:30. To protect the F-4s, rules of engagement that allowed the MiG Combat Air Patrol to escort the strike force in and out of the target area were revised in December to restrict MiGCAP penetration to the edge of SAM coverage. 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. [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. What he valued most was the courage and skill of his aircrews. [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. and a leading advocate of strategic bombing in the Air Corps. Robin Olds (July 14th, 1922 - June 14th, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. Olds next was given command of the Air Defense Commands 71st Fighter Squadron based at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport. 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.. 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