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Jolley, Clifford Dale, Lt Col.
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Contact Info
Home Town Cleveland
Last Address Bountiful
Date of Passing Jul 13, 1995
Location of Interment Brigham City Cemetery - Brigham, Utah
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 7 August 1952, Capt. Clifford D. Jolley, flying an F-86 Sabre "Jolley Roger," became the 18th jet ace of the Korean War, and the first Air National Guard "ace" of the war from the (Utah Air National Guard).
Captain Jolley shot down seven Soviet-made MiG-15 aircraft, earning his ace status.
He joined the USAAF in 1941. Jolley learned to fly in 1942. He flew P-40s and P-38s with the 18th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, 11th Air Force in the Aleutians. He shot down 3 enemy planes during WWII.
He first began flying P-51 Mustangs with the California Air Guard in San Bernardino in 1947.
He transitioned to jets in 1948 at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., and joined the Utah Air National Guard in 1949.
During 1951, he toured the country with his Guard unit, putting on firepower demonstrations. Late that year, he attended Jet Gunnery School at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. He and many Guardsmen were activated from the Utah unit and assigned to a regular Air Force unit in Korea in 1952.
Jolley flew with the 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, "The Chiefs," of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Group from Kimpo Air Base, South Korea. The squadron flew four kinds of missions in Korea: MiG sweeps, cover flights for bombers, cover flights for photo recon planes, and weather searches.
He was shot down over Cho-Do by a MiG-15 on 2 July 1952, managed to eject. He was briefly captured, and subsequently rescued by the crew of an H-5 of the 3rd Air Rescue Service.
While flying his F-86E (#51-2769), he downed his first MiG on his 31st birthday, the second on the Fourth of July, the third and fourth on August 7, the fifth on August 8 (becoming the 18th jet ace of the Korean War), and the 6th and 7th later that month. He is credited with having at least 13 probables.
He came home on August 30, exactly 10 years after graduation from flight school. He became the operations officer for the 191st Fighter Squadron, Utah National Guard upon his return.
Jolley went on to become a flight test pilot with Northrop Corporation, flying many other types of fighter jets, including the F-89 Scorpion. He retired to Salt Lake City in 1966 as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
He passed in Salt Lake City, 13 July 1995.
Other Comments:
See NOTES for details.
1943-1945, AAF MOS 1055, 18th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine