Don Davis Flickinger (26 November 1907 – 23 February 1997) was a military flight surgeon and pioneer in aerospace medicine who retired from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

. Flickinger was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

on 26 November 1907 and graduated from

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a pub ...

in 1925. He then attended Stanford University, graduating with an A.B. in 1929. Flickinger received his medical degree from the Stanford School of Medicine in 1933. He completed his medical training at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1934 and was then commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. From July to November 1937, Flickinger trained as a flight surgeon at

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, 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 Uni ...

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio– New Br ...

. As an expert in the

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

of high altitude flight, Flickinger accompanied a squadron of nine

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theate ...

bombers from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in September 1941. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After returning from the Philippines to Hawaii in November 1941, Flickinger was medical officer of the day for

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 ...

during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Flickinger became a pioneer in

pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These Speci ...

in the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was off ...

, parachuting into rough terrain to aid downed flyers and then helping them hike to safety. His most famous rescue mission was widely publicized by one of the survivors of the August 1943 crash of a

C-46 The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...

transport in Burma, CBS radio correspondent Eric Sevareid. From November 1945 to December 1946, Flickinger was professor of air science and tactics at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

while also completing a graduate course in

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular he ...

there. In 1947, Flickinger was made director of research at the School of Aviation Medicine. In February 1953, he was appointed director of research for the

Air Research and Development Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. Ove ...

. On 11 October 1954, Frickinger was frocked as a

. In August 1955, Flickinger became the first commander of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. From January 1956 to June 1957, he served as head of the European Office of the Air Research and Development Command in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In July 1957, Flickinger returned to Air Research and Development Command headquarters at

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint B ...

where he served as director of life sciences. In May 1958, Flickinger was also made special assistant to the commander of the

Air Force Ballistic Missile Division Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's space development, acquisition, launch, and logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California and manages the United States' space launch ra ...

for bioastronautics. In November 1958, he became assistant to the commander of the Air Research and Development Command for bioastronautics. Flickinger retired on 1 August 1961 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. On 1 October 1958, Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace II was appointed chairman of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Special Committee on Life Sciences and Brig. Gen. Flickinger was appointed vice chairman. The committee provided guidance on the medical testing requirements for potential

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...

astronauts. Flickinger also provided guidance on the selection of

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

astronauts. In the early 1960s, Lovelace and Flickinger also supervised the physical testing of female pilots as potential astronauts. Some of these women were later referred to as the

Mercury 13 The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who took part in a privately funded program run by William Randolph Lovelace II aiming to test and screen women for Human spaceflight, spaceflight. The participants—First Lady Astronaut Trainees (or ...

. Flickinger died on 23 February 1997 at

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

. His name was incorrectly reported as "Donald" in some subsequent obituaries. Flickinger was interred at

Mount Tamalpais Cemetery Mount Tamalpais Cemetery is located in San Rafael, California. History The cemetery was founded by Dr. Henry A. Dubois, Jr. An ordinance was passed that prohibited any burials within the towns limits. Dr DuBois attended a town hall meeting wh ...

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

along with his third wife Marilyn Kelso Flickinger. He had a son, daughter and two grandsons from his two previous marriages, which had both ended in divorce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flickinger, Don Davis 1907 births 1997 deaths Los Angeles High School alumni Stanford University alumni Stanford University School of Medicine alumni United States Air Force Medical Corps officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Harvard Medical School faculty Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal NASA people