HUGH D. DOW, born (with his twin brother, Glenn A. Dow) on 10 November 1922. At eighteen, after first year in college, went to Canada in July 1941 and joined the RCAF. Sailed to England in April 1942 and did O.T.U. on Hurricanes. Transferred to USAAC in London, 29 September 1942 and was assigned to the newly formed 346th Ftr. Sq., 350th Ftr. GP-, at Coltishall, near Norwich.

With 13 hours on P-39's, flew 7 hours from Land's End, England to Port Layautey, Morocco, North Africa. Fought in the Tunisian and Pantelleria shows, out of airfields at Thelepte and Sfax. Because of the P-39's vulnerabilities (real and imagined), spent much of the next year on convoy patrols and air defense operations in the Mediterranean. But, when 350th Units moved to Ghisonnachia, Corsica, was in bombing range of the Hun once more and carried out strikes against targets along the Italian littoral. After 30 days' leave in the States in the summer of '44, returned to command the P-47 equipped 347th SCREAMING RED ASS Squadron.

On a flight out of Pisa, Italy was shot down by flak over Thiene airdrome near Vicenza, on 22 January 1945. After a slimming tour in Germany (in at 170 lbs, out at 130) was liberated by Patton's army (along with 33,000 other Allied troops) at Moosburg, north of Munich on 29 April 1945. Returned to Pisa, Italy to rejoin his brother Glenn and the 347th Ftr. Sq. The 350th Gp sailed from Naples, 1 Aug. 1945, bound for Pacific Theatre operations. When the Japanese capitulated, returned to the U.S. and participated in the 350th's inactivation at Seymour Johnson Army Air Field, N.C., in October 1945.

I had flown 247 missions (about half offensive/half defensive) had been "holed" on 15 sorties, destroyed a stack of men and machines, and scored a couple of ME-I09 kills, but the only significant statistic for me was that I had survived. It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the fury, some 35 years removed from the battles, but my records indicate that almost one or every three pilots who entered combat with the 350th ended up on a casualty list: KIA, Killed, Wounded, POW or behind the lines Evader.

The machine, the P-47, was an exceptional weapon in its time. But it is the exploits or the men, the breed or young men who were driven to be fighter pilots (many to die so very young because they were achievers) that I remember most.

Subsequent to WWII, I had the good fortune to spend a full career with the United States Air Force. As I look back from the September or my life I can think or few more challenging or interesting ways to have made the journey.