Jeffrey S. Feinstein (born January 29, 1945) is a retired career officer of the

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 ...

(USAF). 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 ...

, Feinstein was a

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

, an integral part of two-man aircrews with the emergence of

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

s as the primary weapons during aerial combat. Flying aboard

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

s, Feinstein downed five enemy aircraft, thereby becoming a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, the last of five U.S. aviators to become aces during that conflict and to date still the most recent aviator to achieve ace status in the U.S. military.

Early life

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, on January 29, 1945, Feinstein enlisted in the USAF in 1963 to attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. He subsequently entered the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

in 1964 and graduated in 1968.

Military career

Feinstein was rejected from pilot training due to excessive

myopia Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye condition where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry, while close objects appear normal. ...

. He then underwent Undergraduate Navigator Training and he graduated. While assigned to the

80th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 80th Fighter Squadron (traditionally nicknamed the "Headhunters", and since 1971 also the "Juvats") is a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter squadron (aviation), squadron of the United States Air Force, currently part of the 8th O ...

, he was detached to the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron, part of the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at

Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB) is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of 23rd Wing Air Command. It is in the city of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and is the main airport serving the city and province. The RTAF 23 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. His actions, for which he received multiple awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

for his first four kills and the Air Force Cross for his fifth kill, took place prior to and during Operation Linebacker in 1972, making him a flying ace. His nickname/tactical callsign was "Fang." Having originally been designated as an Air Force Navigator, he was given a vision waiver after Vietnam (Feinstein wore glasses to correct mild nearsightedness to 20/20). Reassigned to the 9th Air Force staff at

Shaw AFB Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdict ...

, South Carolina in the 1990s, Feinstein also flew as Airborne Command Element Director aboard

E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weath ...

AWACS aircraft during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to February 1991. Lieutenant Colonel Feinstein retired from the U.S. Air Force on 1 July 1996.

Awards and decorations

In addition to his Command Pilot wings,

Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...

wings, and Parachutist wings, Feinstein was awarded the Air Force Cross,

(4 awards),

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 ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat "V" (5 awards),

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

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, ...

, Meritorious Service Medal,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

(23 awards),

Aerial Achievement Medal The Aerial Achievement Medal (AAM) is a decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force which was established in 1988. The decoration is intended to recognize the contributions of aircrew members who would, otherwise, not ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

, and numerous unit, expeditionary and service awards.

Air Force Cross citation

:Feinstein, Jeffrey S., :Captain, U.S Air Force :13th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand :Date of Action: October 13, 1972 :Citation:

MiG kill summary

References

External links

US Air-to-Air Victories

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feinstein, Jeffrey American Vietnam War flying aces United States Air Force officers United States Air Force Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United States) Living people Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War 1945 births Military personnel from Chicago Aviators from Illinois United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War