Frank O'Driscoll Hunter

Frank O'Driscoll Hunter (December 8, 1894[1] – June 25, 1982) was a World War I flying ace, being credited by the United States Army Air Service with downing nine enemy aircraft.[citation needed] He transferred to Camp Anthony Wayne, Pennsylvania., in September 1926 as a pilot with the Composite Air Corps Squadron, and returned to Selfridge Field in December 1926.He returned to the United States in December 1940 and was stationed at Orlando Army Air Base, Fla., as commanding officer of the 23rd Composite Group.[citation needed] It was upon Brigadier General Hunter's recommendation that the Eagle Squadrons (which had American pilots in the service of the United Kingdom) were transferred from the Royal Air Force to become the 4th Fighter Group in September 1942.[citation needed] In May 1943, Hunter was relieved of his command for his failure to obey a directive issued by his superior, General Ira C. Eaker mandating use of wing tanks on P-47 fighters.His tenure in this command was marred by his involvement in maintaining racial segregation in the U. S. Army, thus provoking the Freeman Field Mutiny of the Tuskegee Airmen.[6] In 1944 the Earl of Halifax, then Britain's ambassador to the U.S., presented to General Hunter, in the name of the King of England, the CBE, "Commander of the military division of the most excellent order of the British Empire."Throughout his lengthy flying career, he survived three bail outs, one of which was from an altitude of 500 feet over a frozen lake, and two broken backs, both of which kept him in the hospital for a year.[citation needed] General Hunter retired from the Army Air Forces on March 31, 1946, and returned to his home state of Georgia.
Hunter during World War I
H.M. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are greeted by Major General Frank Hunter and Major General Ira C. Eaker of the 8th U.S. Army Air Forces on the occasion of their visit to Duxford , Cambridgeshire on 26 May 1943.
Plaque of Hunter at the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
World War IISavannah, GeorgiaLaurel Grove CemeteryUnited States of AmericaUnited States Army Air ServiceUnited States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air ForceMajor General103rd Aero Squadron1st Pursuit Group94th Aero Squadron95th Pursuit Squadron17th Pursuit Group79th Pursuit Squadron23rd Composite GroupVIII Fighter CommandFirst Air ForceWorld War IDistinguished Service CrossArmy Distinguished Service MedalSilver StarLegion of MeritDistinguished Flying CrossPurple Heartflying acefighter aircraftHotchkiss SchoolConnecticutLausanne, SwitzerlandEddie RickenbackerArmy Air ServiceFort SillOklahomaEllington FieldSelfridge FieldMichigan94th SquadronLangley FieldVirginiaPennsylvaniaWashington, D.C.Rockwell FieldCalifornia1st Pursuit WingMarch FieldAlbrook FieldPanama Canal Zone19th Composite WingBarksdale FieldLouisianaMaxwell FieldAlabamaHunter Air Force BaseLondon, EnglandOrlando Army Air BaseArmy Air ForcesEighth Air ForceBolling FieldEuropean Theater of OperationsGeorge VIQueen ElizabethIra C. EakerDuxfordCambridgeshireEagle SquadronsRoyal Air Force4th Fighter Groupracial segregationFreeman Field MutinyTuskegee AirmenEarl of HalifaxKing of EnglandTwelfth Air ForceGreat BritainNorth Africa477th Bombardment GroupWalter Reed General HospitalGeorgia Aviation Hall of FameGeorgia Historical SocietyUS Army Air Forces Command Pilot Badgeoak leaf clustersWorld War I Victory Medalcampaign starsAmerican Defense Service Medalservice starAmerican Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign MedalEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalCommander of the Order of the British EmpireCroix de Guerre (WWI)Combat ObserverTechnical ObserverList of World War I flying aces from the United StatesAir Force Historical Research AgencyUnited States Air ForceWayback Machine