In all, he downed 16 enemy aircraft in the two wars, making him a triple ace. A woman named Robyn appeared as a model back in 1997 on the series Just Shoot Me. It lasted until, as a colonel, he went to Washington after his service in Vietnam to meet the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John P. McConnell. After her fathers death, Christina spent years combing through her fathers notes, diaries and unfinished memoir to complete a captivating, intimate memoir of the consummate fighter pilot. Sitting in the audience was Capt. On August 25, during an escort mission to Wismar, Germany, Olds shot down three Messerschmitt Bf 109s to become the squadrons first ace, making him the last P-38 ace of the Eighth Air Force and the last in the European Theater of Operations. Robin Olds's income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. The remainder of his career was spent in non-operational positions, as Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy and as an official in the Air Force Inspector General's Office. Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and two brothers, Barry and Andy. Flying the Gloster Meteor jet fighter, he commanded No. He thought about the words, absorbed, them, and passed them along. Her husband has three children from a previous relationship;[112], Robert Ernest Olds, who was stillborn in 1958. Pataky addressed the hit tune . [51] Olds shot down an Fw 190 in his new Scat VI on October 6 during a savage battle near Berlin in which he was nearly shot down by his own wingman. They married in Beverly Hills on February 6, 1947, and had two daughters, Christina and Susan, and a son, Robert Ernest, who was stillborn in 1958. Col Olds had several general assemblies with the support staff and they were always motivational. So, how much is Robin Olds worth at the age of 85 years old? Robin taught her to drive on the Academy grounds and ride horses at the equestrian center. And when he could not wrangle a combat assignment in the Korean War, he participated in transcontinental jet races and flew with the Air Forces first aerobatic demonstration team. He was 84. The Vietnam War "proved the need to teach tactical warfare and have fighter pilots. It seemed that the 38 needed help so I started down. When he reported to his first interview with Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. McConnell, McConnell walked up to him, stuck a finger under his nose and said, "Take it off." [34], Second lieutenant Olds completed fighter pilot training with the 329th Fighter Group, an operational training unit based at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California. His 259 total combat missions included 107 in World War II and 152 in Southeast Asia, 105 of those over North Vietnam. Olds was a team player as long as the team wanted to play. View military histories of over 2 million, If you are a veteran, reconnect with people. . In an ultra-low-level attack, leaving rooster tails on the paddies behind them, Olds and two wingmen put their bombs on target. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Years later, Wetterhahn compared Olds arrival with that of Brig. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. He was an All-Star player for the West Point Academy football team, a husband and father of two daughters. His inability to rise higher as a general officer is attributed to both his maverick views and his penchant for drinking.[4]. This done, Olds was posted to the 479th Fighter Groups 434th Fighter Squadron with orders for Britain. with Robin McGraw," the 66-year-old admitted that she did have a cosmetic procedure a few years back, just not a face-lift. Olds was promoted tobrigadier generalafter returning from Vietnam and became Commandant of Cadets at theUnited States Air Force Academy. The fact that his book remains unfinished represents a major loss to aviation literature. I was assigned to Base Operations and they were both frequent visitors. He says "I went on into the fight, got another one, BE (His wing man) got two others with one pass. Amber is a massage therapist. Olds wears USAF flight gear typical of the 1967 time frame, including: K-2B Flying Suit, CSU-3/P Anti-G Suit, SRU-21/P Survival Vest, PCU-3/P Torso Harness, B-3A Gloves, and a Pilot's Survival Knife. It was the best assignment I had during my almost 12 years in the USAF. [120], Olds is remembered as the Class Exemplar of the Academy Class of 2011, which had begun Basic Cadet Training, the first step towards becoming Air Force officers, two days before Olds' funeral.[121]. Show more. In June, Olds was one of four pilots who participated in the first one-day, dawn-to-dusk, transcontinental round trip jet flight from March Field to Washington, D.C.[66], The jet demonstration performances with Herbst ended tragically on July 4, 1946, when Herbst crashed at the Del Mar Racetrack after his aircraft stalled during an encore of their routine finale in which the P-80s did a loop while configured to land. My left window blew out, scaring the hell out of me. Rising to the command of two fighter wings, Olds is regarded among aviation historians, and his peers, as the best wing commander of the Vietnam War, for both his air-fighting skills, and his reputation as a combat leader. Advertisement. Mrs. Stockton was born and reared in. Gen. Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) in Twelve Oclock High. [79] Olds rewarded Kirk by granting him a transfer to his command in Thailand in March 1967. Following a low-level bridge-bombing mission to Montmirail, France, on August 14, Olds shot down his first German aircraft, a pair of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. As our way to help you celebrate the New Year, were offering the first book in the Hamfist series FREE! At about 4,000ft (1,200m), the Jerry, still way out of my range, turned under me and slightly to the right. Think about it, before you give one. Olds was born Robert Olds Jr. in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 14, 1922, into an army family and spent much of his boyhood in Hampton, Virginia, where he attended elementary and high school. He became an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School between 1928 and 1931, the crucial period when the theory of strategic bombardment achieved ascendancy within the Air Corps as the most effective use of airpower. That made him one of very few that have recovered from a compressibility event. At 12, he vowed to attend West Point, where he hoped to play football and begin the path to becoming a military aviator. MiG interceptions increased as a result, primarily by MiG-21s using high-speed hit-and-run tactics against bomb-laden F-105 formations, and although only two bombers had been lost, the threat to the force was perceived as serious. But he was contemptuous of the Air Forces attitude toward air combat, exclaiming, The best flying job in the world is a MiG-21 pilot at Phuc Yen. Olds, Robin, born 14-07-1922 in Honolulu, Hawaii, was an American WWII fighter pilot and later General Officer in the U.S. Air Force. [24], Olds developed ambivalent feelings about West Point, admiring its dedication to "Duty, Honor, Country", but disturbed by the tendency of many tactical officers to distort the purpose of its Honor Code. [6][7][8] He had one younger brother, Stevan Meigs (19241988), two younger paternal half-brothers, Sterling Meigs "Dusty" (19351995) and Frederick A. He was liberated when the war with Germany ended. The iconic actor died in 2014. . This called for 8th TFW F-4s to mimic F-105 operations in an effort to draw enemy aircraft into combat. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. [89], After an intensive planning, maintenance, and briefing period, the mission was scheduled for January 1, 1967. In 1946, while based at March Field, Olds met Hollywood actress (and pin-up girl) Ella Raines on a blind date in Palm Springs. As a result, the new academy superintendent, Maj. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, replaced the head coach (an Army officer) with Colonel Earl "Red" Blaik, a 1920graduate and head coach at Dartmouth, who had recruited Olds in 1939. It was thought to be unnecessary. Army's record in 1941 was 531, with wins over The Citadel, VMI, Yale, Columbia, and West Virginia, a scoreless tie with Notre Dame, and losses to Harvard, Penn and Navy. Brigadier General Robin Olds' next assignment was as Commandant of . As the second plane pulled a full 360 turn, Olds stayed with him. [30], Olds completed primary training in the summer of 1942 at the Spartan School of Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[31] and basic and advanced training at Stewart Field, New York. The son of U.S. Army Air Forces Major General Robert Olds, educated at West Point, and the product of an upbringing in the early years of the U.S. Army Air Corps, Olds epitomized the youthful World War II fighter pilot. For a brief time his father was married to Nina Gore Auchincloss, making General Olds a stepbrother of the writer Gore Vidal. He warned that losses would be severe in any resumption of aerial combat. . When Operation Linebacker began in May 1972, American fighter jets returned to the offense in the skies over North Vietnam for the first time in nearly four years. The oldest of four, Olds spent the majority of his childhood at Langley Field, Virginia where his father was stationed as an aide to Brig. He had . Returning to the United States after the war, Olds was assigned at West Point as an assistant football coach for Red Blaik. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. You can download the book in thee-book format of your choice at AmazonorSmashwords. Olds pursued the Bf 109 through the formation, and shot it down.[58]. Olds himself shot down one of the seven, for which he and the other aircrew were awarded Silver Stars. Far too many military personnel, policemen, and politicians mouth their oath of office as a rote exercise. Passed away at 10 o'clock Wednesday night at the Menorah Hospital in Kansas City, following an illness of about a week. GOOD Morning America star Robin Roberts has admitted her gratitude for her GMA co-anchors in a new post on social media. A 14-aircraft aerial review included four F-4 Phantoms flying a missing man formation. Your orders have to be legal and proper. U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who served in both World War II and the Vietnam War. [21], As a plebe, Olds played football on a freshman squad that began the season with three losses but finished 341 while the varsity won only one game in its second consecutive losing season. Please check back often for the newest additions. Adding to his glamorous image, General Olds was a former all-American football player at West Point and the husband of a movie star, Ella Raines. Gen. Robin Olds, a World War II fighter ace who became an aviation legend by commanding the Air Force wing that shot down seven MIGs over North Vietnam in the biggest air battle of the. He remained in the service as it became theUnited States Air Force, despite often being at odds with its leadership, and was one of its pioneer jet pilots. Compute answers using Wolfram's breakthrough technology & knowledgebase, relied on by millions of students & professionals. US Air Force Brigadier General. [71] As his Deputy Commander of Operations Olds brought with him Colonel Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., whom he had met during his Pentagon assignment and who would go on to become the first African-American 4-star Air Force general. At first on the command staff of the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Landstuhl Air Base, West Germany, Olds then commanded its Sabre-equipped 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group from October 8, 1955, to August 10, 1956. Robin Roberts is an engaged woman. After he received a conditional commitment for nomination from Pennsylvania Congressman J. Buell Snyder, Olds moved to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where he lived in the YMCA and supported himself working odd jobs. At 6feet 2inches in height (1.88m) and weighing 205pounds (92kg), he played tackle on both offense and defense, lettering both seasons. [27] During his Academy years Olds also acquired a strong contempt for alumni networking, commonly called "ring knocking",[28] to the degree that he went out of his way to conceal his West Point background. If you ever wanted to fly a P-51 Mustang in combat over Germany or shoot down a MiG over North Vietnam flying your F-4 Phantom, reading this is the closest you can get without actually doing it. Olds commanded the wing until July 26, 1965. He was born on July 14, 1922 and his birthplace is Honolulu, HI. His wife is Ella Raines (6 February 1947 - 1975) ( divorced) ( 3 children) Robin Olds Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. The kids on base loved it. [21] Olds completed Millard Prep and applied for admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point. While pulling hard on the yoke and turning hard left at 90. He passed the West Point entrance examination and was accepted into the Class of 1944 on June 1, 1940. In an effort to raise morale in the 8th TFW, he began growing a famed handlebar mustache. Over Btzow, undetected by the Germans, Olds and his wingman jettisoned their fuel drop tanks and attacked, although the second element of the flight had been unable to keep up during the climb.[43]. I was the only one to return homeWhen I tested the stall characteristics of my wounded bird over our home airfield, I found it quit flying at a little over 175mph (282km/h) indicated and rolled violently into the dead wing (note: the right flap had been blown away and two large holes knocked in the same wing). Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 - June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. Throughout his career, he was a staunch advocate for better fighters, better pilot training and new tactics, culminating in the war-winning air-to-air tactics and doctrine of surgical precision bombing that we use today, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, said in a statement after General Oldss death. Christina Olds was born in Manhattan, NYC on January 5, 1952 and bounced around the world with her USAF fighter pilot father Robin Olds and Hollywood actress mother Ella Raines. I rolled over on my back, following him and gave him an ineffective burst at long range. It was imprinted in his genes. He was assigned duties as operations officer of the 434th Fighter squadron. He served as commandant of cadets for three years and sought to restore morale in the wake of a major cheating scandal. This led him to be subject to compressibility. He continued attacking in "dead-stick mode", hitting his target in the fuselage and shooting off part of its engine cowling. Your email address will not be published. Robin Olds was born on the 14th of July, 1922. In contrast by June, as Olds had predicted, the Air Force's fighter community was struggling with a nearly 1:1kill-loss ratio. 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