Charles Rankin Bond, Jr. (April 22, 1915 – August 18, 2009) was an American pilot and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

officer. He served with the

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

in Burma and China during World War II. He was shot down twice and was credited with shooting down 9.5 Japanese airplanes. He later served in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as an aide and personal pilot to

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...

. He rose to the rank of Major General and, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, he was the deputy commanding officer of the

2d Air Division The 2nd Air Division (2nd AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Third Air Force, being stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It started operations on 7 ...

in Vietnam and the

13th Air Force The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, ...

in the Philippines. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1968 as commander of the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

. In 1984, Bond's diary of his service with the Flying Tigers was published and became a bestseller.

Early years

Bond was born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas, on April 22, 1915, the son of Charles R. Bond, Sr., and Magnolia Turner Bond. His father operated a small business painting and hanging wallpaper. Bond was an honor student in high school and a participant in the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

.Bond and Anderson, p. 13 He joined the

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States. The Texas Military Forc ...

while in high school. His family could not afford to send him to college. In 1935, he enlisted in the United States Army and enrolled in a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

preparatory program hoping to be selected to attend the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. After failing to secure an appointment to the Military Academy, he returned home and worked for his father in the painting business. In 1938, Bond learned of a program through which high school graduates could take an examination in lieu of college for acceptance as a pilot in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

. He passed the exam and reported to

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...

for pilot training.Bond and Anderson, p. 14 He received his commission as a pilot in January 1939. In February 1939, he was assigned to the Second Bomb Group at Langley, Virginia, where he served under

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was a United States Air Force, US Air Force General (United States), general who was a key American military commander during the Cold War. He served as Chief of Staff of the United St ...

. In March 1941, he was assigned to the newly formed U.S. Army Air Corps Ferrying Command in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

World War II

Upon learning in June 1941 about the formation of the

American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were Military volunteer, volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Kuomintang, Nationalist government of China against Empire of Japan, Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only ...

under the command of

Claire Chennault Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in World War II. Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursuit ...

, Bond immediately volunteered and departed in September 1941 to serve in the Pacific. After stops in Hawaii, Java, and Singapore, he arrived in Burma on November 12, 1941. The unit, based in Burma and China, was tasked with protecting supply routes between China and Burma and with supplying Chinese forces fighting the Japanese. The group was credited with shooting down 299 Japanese aircraft. It became known as the "Flying Tigers". After seeing a picture of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

plane in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, the group painted a shark mouth on the nose of their planes. Bond was the first to paint his

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

. Bond was credited with shooting down nine and a half Japanese aircraft, including three during a single 1942 mission. Bond was also shot down twice during his Flying Tigers service: in May 1942, he was shot down over Baoshan, China, and he parachuted into a cemetery after his plane and clothing caught fire. He was hospitalized, but returned to combat and was shot down again in June 1942; he suffered head injuries but returned to combat within a week. The Flying Tigers received $500 for each Japanese plane they shot down, and Bond used the money to help his parents buy a house. He was awarded China's

Order of the Cloud and Banner The Order of the Cloud and Banner () also known as the Order of the Resplendent Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. The insig ...

, fifth grade, and Seven Star Wing Medal for his service in the Flying Tigers. Bond returned to the United States in 1942 and was honored by the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the most outstanding young men in Texas. In October 1942, he rejoined the Army Air Corps. During the latter part of the war, Bond served as an aide and the personal pilot for

, the American ambassador to the

during the war. In that position, Bond met Soviet Premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and many Russian officials. Bond was forced to make an emergency landing at

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

after the famous battle for that city.

Post-war military service

In 1949, Bond received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in management engineering from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He worked briefly worked as a commercial pilot, but rejoined the Army Air Forces after a few months of civilian work. In the post-war years, Bond had assignments with the

Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field condition ...

and as chief of the Air Division of the U.S. Military Mission in Moscow. In 1957, Brigadier General Bond assumed command of the 25th Air Division (Defense) with headquarters at

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

. In 1959, Brigadier General Bond assumed command of the 28th Air Division (Defense) with headquarters at

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

During the Vietnam War, he served as deputy commanding officer of the 2nd Air Division in Vietnam and the 13th Air Force in the Philippines. In 1967 and 1968 he was commander of the Twelfth Air Force in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. In January 1968, President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

presented a Minuteman flag to Bond in ceremonies at

Bergstrom Air Force Base Bergstrom Air Force Base was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years, it was a major base for the United States Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom reconnaissance fighter fleet. History Bergstrom was originally act ...

in Texas. Bond accepted the flag on behalf of the entire Twelfth Air Force. In addition to the Chinese decorations, Bond was awarded the

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United S ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with one oak leaf cluster, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and several other service and campaign medals during his military career.

Later years

After retiring from the military in 1968, Bond worked as a consultant for

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

for ten years. He also worked for a skylight manufacturing company before retiring in 1983. In 1984, Bond co-authored ''A Flying Tiger's Diary'' with Terry H. Anderson, a historian at

. The bestselling book was based on a diary in which Bond made entries at the end of each day in 1941 and 1942 while serving with the Flying Tigers.Bond and Anderson, ''A Flying Tiger's Diary'', p. xii Bond died at an assisted-living facility in

from the effects of

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Charles 1915 births 2009 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from Texas Flying Tigers pilots Military personnel from Dallas Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Republic of China Air Force personnel Texas A&M University alumni United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Commercial aviators Deaths from dementia in Texas