Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Charles Henry "Mac" MacDonald (November 23, 1914 – March 3, 2002) was a

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 and a fighter ace of World War II. MacDonald commanded the 475th Fighter Group for 20 months in his

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

, "Putt Putt Maru", and became the third ranking fighter ace in the Pacific during World War II.

Early life

MacDonald was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania, on November 23, 1914. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps pilot training program after graduating from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1938. He received his flight wings and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant at

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-use airport, Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, on May 25, 1939. His first assignment was to the 55th Pursuit Group, he later transferred to the 18th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

on February 9, 1941, and was at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on December 7, 1941. After flying patrol for an hour and a half, MacDonald and his small group of planes headed back to Hawaii, but encountered a fierce hail of flak from nervous and shaken gunners. MacDonald had to run the gauntlet in order to land his aircraft. He remained in Hawaii until early 1943, and was sent back to the United States to help train a

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

squadron in Massachusetts.

World War II

MacDonald then served in the United States with the 326th Fighter Group before transferring to the 348th Fighter Group to command the 340th Pursuit Squadron at Westover Field,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. On October 1, 1943, then a major, joined the 475th Fighter Group at Dobodura,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

as the group executive officer. He scored his first four victories that month and became an ace on November 9, 1943, when he downed two Zekes near Alexishafen Airdrome. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel the following day on November 10, 1943, and became the group commander. While he was CO of the 432nd Squadron, MacDonald demonstrated his leadership on an October 25 mission to Rabaul. While leading a formation of P-38's flying escort for some B-24 Liberators on a Rabaul strike, heavy weather closed in, and all P-38's except MacDonald's flight turned back. Suddenly, the weather cleared and the formation of B-24's, with hardly an escort, was attacked by

A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

s. MacDonald and his flight darted in and out of the bomber formation, clearing the Zeros from the bombers tails. They couldn't spend time finishing off damaged enemy aircraft nor confirming kills. Through their skill and diligence, they prevented many bombers from being shot down. But another pilot could confirm one kill by MacDonald, a Zero, his fourth aerial victory overall. For his actions, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. MacDonald moved up to Group Commander in Nov. 1943, replacing George Prentice who was rotated home. Leading the group for 20 months, Colonel "Mac" flew his P-38, Putt-Putt-Maru, with the unit number "100." During early April, he led the 475th on missions over the Japanese stronghold of Hollandia, in northwest Guinea; by the end of the month, it had fallen. In mid 1944, General George Kenney arranged for Charles A. Lindbergh to visit and fly with the 475th. He was able to teach the P-38 pilots to increase their operational range by 50%. During his stay with the 475th, he and MacDonald became good friends, and earned MacDonald's respect as an excellent pilot. On July 28, 1944, Lindbergh flew on an apparent milk run with MacDonald. However, this "uneventful" mission became a sticky situation. A Japanese fighter broke through their formation and set his sights on Lindbergh's P-38. They were on a collision course, guns blazing from both airplanes, when at the last moment, Lindbergh pulled up. The wounded Japanese fighter could not follow and dove into the sea. General Paul Wurtsmith put MacDonald on a one-month "punitive leave" for allowing the national hero to get into a dangerous situation. MacDonald returned to the 475th in time to lead the group during the momentous events surrounding the liberation of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He flew several sorties over Philippine Islands and shot down thirteen of his kills in the seven weeks between Nov. 10, 1944 and Jan. 1, 1945. One of his most memorable missions occurred on 25 December 1944 when he destroyed three Japanese fighters over Clark Field in the Philippines. He scored his last aerial victory on 13 March 1945, bringing his total to 27. He finished the war with 27 confirmed victories, making him the third highest ranking U.S. Army fighter pilot of the Pacific Theater.

Later life

MacDonald returned to the United States in July 1945 where he served in various staff and command assignments, including the 33rd Fighter Group and 23rd Fighter Wing commander, Air Attaché to Sweden, and instructor at the US War College in Washington, D.C. before retiring from the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in July 1961. Colonel MacDonald's retirement ceremony at McChord AFB near Tacoma, Washington included a performance by the USAF Thunderbirds and a declaration of 'Col. Charles MacDonald Day'. He then moved to Anacortes, Washington where he opened a real estate business selling island properties in Puget Sound (an excuse to pursue his love of sailing) and his four children finished High School. In 1971 he closed the real estate business, sailed to Mexico, and in 1973 returned to San Diego, California where he and his wife sold the boat that he had first purchased while in Sweden. They spent the next year building a new boat then Colonel MacDonald and his wife spent their time sailing the Pacific and the Caribbean until her death in 1978. He then came ashore and settled back to where he grew up in Mobile, Alabama. He died on March 3, 2002, at the age of 87.

Decorations

His awards and decorations include:

Distinguished Service Cross citation (1st Award)

:MacDonald, Charles H. :Colonel (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces :457th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force :Date of Action: December 7, 1944 :Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Colonel (Air Corps) Charles Henry MacDonald, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-38 Fighter Airplane in the 475th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, in action over Ormoc Bay, Leyte, Philippine Islands, on 7 December 1944. During the surprise landing of troops from an allied convoy at Ormoc Bay, Colonel MacDonald voluntarily led a two-plane flight of P-38's to join another flight covering the friendly shipping. On approaching the area he sighted three enemy fighters heading for our convoy, and with complete disregard for his own safety he promptly attacked the enemy flight leader. Pressing his attack close, he shot down one enemy fighter and assisted in the destruction of another. Returning to his home base for refueling, Colonel MacDonald again took off, this time leading a flight of four P-38's. While on patrol, a formation approximating seven enemy fighters jumped his flight from the rear, shooting down number three man. Though outnumbered more than two to one, Colonel MacDonald skillfully forced two of the enemy planes to break flight and in the ensuing dog-fight personally accounted for two more enemy planes, and set up another for his wing man who shot it down, thus again breaking up an enemy attack at a critical time and saving much valuable shipping. His initiative, aggressiveness and outstanding leadership in these actions enabled him to destroy three enemy aircraft and contribute to the destruction of two more, bringing his total victories to twenty-four. Colonel MacDonald's heroic action and example of leadership exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.

Distinguished Service Cross citation (2nd Award)

:MacDonald, Charles H. :Colonel (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces :457th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force :Date of Action: December 25, 1944 :Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to Colonel (Air Corps) Charles Henry MacDonald (ASN: 0–22518), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-38 Fighter Airplane in the 475th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 25 December 1944, in the Southwest Pacific Area of Operations. On that date, Colonel MacDonald shot down three enemy aircraft in a single engagement. It was the second time in less than three weeks that he shot down three aircraft in a single mission. Colonel MacDonald's unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 5th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Early life

World War II

Later life

Decorations

Distinguished Service Cross citation (1st Award)

Distinguished Service Cross citation (2nd Award)

See also

Notes

References

Book

Web

Further reading