Col. Arthur Jeffrey:
Oklahoma native earned ace status as WWII fighter pilot
Tulsa World (OK) - Friday, May 1,
2015
YAKIMA, Washington — Arthur Jeffrey's
chance to fight the Nazis would come soon enough. First, there were the
neighbors to contend with.
Annoyed by the young pilot's habit
of "buzzing" his wife — flying over their apartment, upside down and so low you
could see the pipe hanging out of his mouth — the other residents finally
complained to the War Department.
That put an end to the
hot-dogging.
But it wouldn't be long before
Jeffrey's piloting skills and showmanship found a more suitable setting.
And the skies over war torn Europe
would never be the same.
A former Oklahoman and decorated
World War II fighter ace credited with shooting down 14 enemy aircraft, retired
Col. Arthur Jeffrey died April 18 at his home in Yakima, Washington. He was 95.
Brookside Funeral Home in Yakima
handled arrangements.
At the time of his death, Jeffrey,
who concluded his 30-year Air Force career in 1968, was the
second-highest-scoring American ace still living, according to the American
Fighter Aces Association.
The title of "ace" — pilots who
have destroyed five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat — was awarded to
1,289 American pilots during the World War II era. Only 77 of them are still
living, the AFAA said.
Jeffrey "was very modest, even
reluctant to talk about his war experiences," said his son, Kent Jeffrey of
Kentfield, California.
Kent, a retired Delta Air Lines
captain, added that he only learned the story behind his father's Silver Star
after he died, when he found it online.
It happened one day when
Jeffrey, leading a section of nine P-51 Mustang fighters, observed about 55
enemy planes positioning for an attack.
Jeffrey and his mates
engaged, foiling the mission, while destroying seven enemy planes and damaging
two others.
Jeffrey did his part in
spite of his own gun sight and two of his guns being damaged.
The Silver Star citation
credits the effort's success largely to Jeffrey's "courage, combat skill, and
gallant leadership."
The honors would keep
coming for Jeffrey during the war; he would also receive the Distinguished
Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster and Air Medal with 16 Oak Leaf Clusters.
The grit and courage behind
such heroics began with Jeffrey's childhood in Oklahoma, his son said.
One of six children, he was
born in Brewer, Arkansas, but would grow up in Cardin in the northeastern corner
of Oklahoma.
To help his family survive
during the Depression, Jeffrey, at 15, started working nights in Cardin's lead
and zinc mine, while continuing to attend school during the day.
Dubbed "Schoolboy" as the
mine's youngest worker, he would keep up that schedule for three years.
He kept his grades up, too:
In 1937, he graduated from high school in Cardin as class salutatorian.
From there, it was the Army
Air Corps for Jeffrey.
Learning to fly P-38
fighters, he would be stationed for a year in Santa Ana, California — where his
aerial antics drew the ire of neighbors.
From there, Jeffrey was off
to the war.
Just two weeks after his
debut mission in Europe, he would find himself providing air cover for D-Day.
It was June 6, 1944, and
Jeffrey, a member of the 434th Fighter Squadron, "literally had a birds-eye view
of the greatest invasion in human history," Kent Jeffrey said. "He commented how
he had never seen so many ships and planes in one place. No one had."
Jeffrey flew two missions
on D-Day, and then several more in the days to follow.
On July 29, 1944, he was
escorting home a badly shot-up B-17 when it was attacked by an Me 163 Komet, a
German rocket-powered fighter.
The engagement, which
included Jeffrey executing an almost impossibly steep dive and last-second
pull-out, lasted less than 4 minutes, with Jeffrey finally shooting down the
enemy aircraft.
Switching later to P-51s,
the combat opportunities kept coming for Jeffrey.
Twice, on Dec. 5, 1944, and
then again on Dec. 23, he distinguished himself by shooting down three enemy
aircraft on each mission. It was for his actions on Dec. 5 that he received the
Silver Star.
Kent Jeffrey said his
father, who was cremated, gave special instructions for his ashes.
He wanted them scattered at
sea off the California coast — an area he flew over many times, including as a
young pilot on submarine patrol.
Jeffrey was preceded in
death by a son, Brian; and two wives, Edna and Ann.
Survivors include one son,
Kent Jeffrey; and two sisters, Helen Luke and Bertie DiPietro.
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P-51D Mustang - "Boomerang Jr."
Col. Arthur Jeffrey, 434th FS, 479th FG, Dec., 1944 - Signature Edition 1:48
Hobby Master HM-HA7723A
