This Military Service Page was created/owned by
AB Raymond Guinn
to remember
Ashworth, Earl E., Lt Col USAF(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Wilcoe, WV
Last Address Dayton, OH
Date of Passing Feb 04, 2009
Wall/Plot Coordinates Burial Unknown
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
He enlisted in the Army Air Corp, graduated Cadet Training School, and served proudly with distinction, with the legendary Flying Tigers, in the 528th Fighter Squadron in China; that Squadron receiving the Presidential Unit Citation and Earl awarded the highest Air Corp/Air Force honor, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and piloted virtually every heralded fighter aircraft used to achieve Allied victory. Following WWII, Earl test flew aircraft for the USAF, and served with a chosen few, to pilot the first jet aircraft produced, as well as an expert test pilot for North American Aviation. On January 20, 1951, he married his loving wife of 58 years, Jane Ann Mallay and shortly thereafter defended his country in combat during the Korean War, then rounding out his active duty service during the war in Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Lt. Colonel Ashworth, throughout his long career with the Army Air Corp and the United States Air Force earned among the following: The Distinguished Flying Cross, the WWII Air Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the Asia-Pacific Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, to name a few; and was the only Air Force fighter pilot to receive the Army Commendation Medal. During the 1950s and 1960s, Lt. Colonel Ashworth piloted the array of fighter aircraft jets and was widely known as among the nations top fighter pilots. His last mission serving his country, was as a civilian, during the Cold War, where Lt. Col. Ashworth served as the Fighter Aircraft Attack SPO Director at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for 15 years, providing the Department of Defense with his vast knowledge of fighter aircraft tactics and overseas defense contracts with Americas allies and treaty partners. He also has the rare distinction of serving in high level posts during overseas duty assignments with both the European Allied Command the Pacific Allied Command. Lt. Colonel Ashworth was the last surviving Flying Tiger in the state of Ohio and maintained close friendships with his fighter pilot brethren, through annual reunions with his beloved 528th Fighter Squadron.
Korean War
From Month/Year
June / 1950
To Month/Year
July / 1953
Description The Korean War; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance.
Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, and liberated Korea north of the 38th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments. Both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved into the south on 25 June 1950. On that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83: Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.
After the first two months of the conflict, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many of the North Korean troops. Those that escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, or into the mountainous interior. At this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951.
After these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of conflict became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their communist allies.
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, have continued to the present.
