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A1C Douglas Freeman (Sundown)
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Cleveland, Charles, Lt Gen.
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Last Address Montgomery, Alabama
Date of Passing May 22, 2021
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4/15/2008�-�Airman May/June Issue�--�It took 55 years to confirm pilot's Korean War kills
When retired Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland answered the phone, he thought nothing of it. It was probably just one of his buddies looking to chat or someone trying to sell him another magazine subscription.
But it turned out to be one of the most important calls of his life.
"That's how I found out the Air Force was officially recognizing me as an ace," General Cleveland said. "Right there on the phone."
That meant the Air Force had confirmed the former F-86 Sabre pilot had shot down five enemy aircraft during the Korean War. But while the notification of his new-found status was brief and unceremonious, General Cleveland's journey to reach that point was a very long one.
"55 years, to be exact," he said.
The story started in South Korea in 1952. Then-1st Lt. Cleveland flew with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Kimpo Air Base. He was a skilled pilot and within eight weeks of joining the squadron he had already scored four kills -- each a Russian-made MiG-15 Fagot.
"Each of those dogfights is burned in my brain," the West Point graduate said. "I can remember every minute of those battles like it happened yesterday."
Then, on Sept. 21, 1952, Lieutenant Cleveland's flight once again found themselves in aerial combat with a group of North Korean MiGs. He flew behind one of the enemy jets and let loose with the Sabre's six nose-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. Some of his rounds hit the MiG and within seconds the enemy plane sprouted a trail of smoke and began to fall rapidly.
That was the last image General Cleveland ever had of the MiG.
"At that moment we were being attacked by two other MiGs," the general said. "So my wingman had to call a break so we wouldn't get all shot up ourselves."
His wingman, then-brevet Capt.Don Pascoe, insisted he claim a kill, but the general just didn't feel right about it.
"There were rules for claiming a kill," he said. "You either had to see a fire that wouldn't go out, a plane crash or the pilot eject. Since I hadn't seen any of those happen, I just felt the right thing to do was claim a probable."
And there the story ended. Almost.
Years later, General Cleveland attended a meeting of the American Fighter Aces Association and met Mr. Overton.
When Mr. Overton heard the general's story about the probable kill, he decided to prove the general had indeed shot down the MiG.
Over the years, Mr. Overton spoke to dozens of people and searched thousands of records, including flight details released by the then Soviet Union soon after the war. He compared the Russian records to General Cleveland's accounts and found a description of a downed MiG that seemed to match the story.
He called General Cleveland and said he'd found his missing MiG.
"I had no idea what he was doing," General Cleveland said. "When we first met he told me he was going to prove I shot the MiG down, but I was like, 'Yeah, right.' But, by God, he really did go out and do it."
With this information, General Cleveland and Mr. Overton went before the Air Force Board for Military Corrections in person. After reviewing the proof and listening to testimony, the board agreed to change the record and credit General Cleveland with his fifth kill.
"To have this happen to me so late in my life is extraordinary, even almost surreal," he said. "The recognition has been personally rewarding and professionally satisfying to me. And it's a real honor to be included with that great group of men who make up the rest of the aces."
The achievement is even more special because so many of his friends and colleagues were behind him making it a reality.
"Frankly, to have friends I admire and respect work so hard on my behalf means more to me than the actual recognition," the general said.
It's also an honor today's fighter pilots may never experience.
"I might just be the last fighter ace," he said. "Today's Air Force and Airmen are so technologically capable that the dogfight era has long since ceased. This means there may be no more fighter aces."
In his office, the phone rings again. As the general leans over to answer it, he smiles and picks up the receiver.
"I hope (Air Force) officials haven't changed their minds," he says.
2003-2003, F-4 Phantom
From Year 2003
To Year 2003
Personal Memories
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F-4 Phantom Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
From Wikipedia: The F-4 Phantom was designed as a fleet defense fighter for the U.S. Navy, and first entered service in 1960. By 1963, it had been adopted by the U.S. Air Force for the fighter-bomber role. When production ended in 1981, 5,195 Phantom IIs had been built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.[7] Until the advent of the F-15 Eagle, the F-4 also held a record for the longest continuous production with a run of 24 years. Innovations in the F-4 included an advanced pulse-doppler radar and extensive use of titanium in its airframe.[8] Despite the imposing dimensions and a maximum takeoff weight of over 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg),[9] the F-4 had a top speed of Mach 2.23 and an initial climb of over 41,000 ft per minute (210 m/s).[10] Shortly after its introduction, the Phantom set 15 world records,[11] including an absolute speed record of 1,606.342 mph (2,585.086 km/h), and an absolute altitude record of 98,557 ft (30,040 m).[12] Although set in 1959?1962, five of the speed records were not broken until 1975 when the F-15 Eagle came into service.[11] The F-4 could carry up to 18,650 pounds (8,480 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and unguided, guided, and nuclear bombs.[13] Since the F-8 Crusader was to be used for close combat, the F-4 was designed, like other interceptors of the day, without an internal cannon;[14] In a dogfight, the RIO or WSO (commonly called "backseater" or "pitter") assisted in spotting opposing fighters, visually as well as on radar. It became the primary fighter-bomber of both the Navy and Air Force by the end of the Vietnam War. Due to its distinctive appearance and widespread service with United States military and its allies, the F-4 is one of the best-known icons of the Cold War. It served in the Vietnam War and Arab?Israeli conflicts, with American F-4 crews achieving 277 aerial victories in South East Asia and completing countless ground attack sorties.[15] The F-4 Phantom has the distinction of being the last United States fighter to attain ace status in the 20th century. During the Vietnam War, the USAF had one pilot and two WSOs,[16] and the USN one pilot and one RIO,[17] become aces in air-to-air combat. It was also a capable tactical reconnaissance and Wild Weasel (suppression of enemy air defenses) platform, seeing action as late as 1991, during Operation Desert Storm.[4][5] The F-4 Phantom II was also the only aircraft used by both of the USA's flight demonstration teams.[18] The USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the USN Blue Angels (F-4J) both switched to the Phantom for the 1969 season; the Thunderbirds flew it for five seasons,[19] the Blue Angels for six.[20] The baseline performance of a Mach 2-class fighter with long range and a bomber-sized payload would be the template for the next generation of large and light/middle-weight fighters optimized for daylight air combat. The Phantom would be replaced by the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force. In the U.S. Navy, it would be replaced by the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet which revived the concept of a dual-role attack fighter.[21]
