Don Blakeslee died Sep 3 08

[GZR_Sactargets]

From AF Daily Report 15 Sep 08

WWII Ace Blakeslee Dies: Retired Col. Donald J.M. Blakeslee, one of the top scoring aces of World War II, died Sept. 3 at age 90 in Miami, Fla., per a notice in the Sun Sentinel. According to the official Air Force record, Blakeslee scored 11.5 victory credits as a member of the Army Air Forces. However, various accounts note that he flew first with the Royal Canadian Air Force, making three kills by 1942 when he transferred to an American Eagle Squadron with the Royal Air Force and shot down two more enemy aircraft before the AAF incorporated his unit in September 1942. He flew Spitfires, P-47, and P-51 fighters. He took command of the 4th Fighter Group in January 1944.

[ricktk]

May he rest in peace! One of the true fighter pilot leaders! While his exploits as a flighter pilot are right up there, his leadership of the 4th Fighter Group, and what he did for that unit and fighter tactics are legendary!

[reconmercs]

RIP he was definately a legend and will be missed.

[GZR_Sactargets]

There is an excellent book by Grover Hall, "1,000 Destroyed-Life and times of the 4th Fighter Group" My copy is almost worn out from reading and re-reading. It is long out of print. For awhile it was available as an online book but that site has also disappeared. If you can find a copy at any price it is well worth it. IIRC Blakeslee's callsign was 'Horseback". There was an anecdote that he was once jumped and made a radio call, "Help, Help, Help I'm being clobbered, down here by the railroad track." They made it into a song. The 4th was known as the "Blakesleewaffee." He was a disciplinarian and sent Gentile home after he clobbered 'Shangrila' on his last combat mission. That incident is well documented with photos and narrative in the book. Grover Hall was later editor of the Montgomery Advertiser Newspaper in Alabama.