Harrison Thyng Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng ( April 12 , 1918 – September 24 , 1983 ) was a fighter pilot and a general in the United States Air Force ( USAF ) . He is notable as one of only six USAF fighter pilots to be recognized as an ace in two wars . On retiring from the military , Thyng became a New Hampshire candidate to the United States Senate . Biography . Born in Laconia , New Hampshire , the second of two sons of Herbert and Elizabeth Thyng , " Harry " Thyng was raised in Barnstead . He was educated in a rural school system , attending a " one - room " school through the 8th Grade , then attending Pittsfield High School . He was an avid athlete , participating in football , baseball and track , in all of which he lettered , and graduated in 1935 . He obtained a Bachelor of Arts pre - law degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1939 . An ROTC graduate , he was given a reserve commission as a second lieutenant , Infantry , at graduation but enlisted in the U . S . Army Air Corps as a flying cadet . He trained at Parks Air College near East St . Louis , Illinois , for primary , Randolph Filed for basic , and Kelly Field for advanced , where he obtained his wings and commission in the Air Corps on March 23 , 1940 . His first assignment was as a pursuit pilot with the 94th Pursuit Squadron , 1st Pursuit Group , at Selfridge Field , Michigan . The personnel of the 1st Pursuit Group provided cadre and instructors for new pursuit groups being mobilized by the U . S . Army Air Forces in preparation for World War II . One of these new groups was the 31st Pursuit Group , the first to be equipped with the Bell P - 39 Airacobra . On October 10 he was transferred to the 41st Pursuit Squadron of the newly activated 31st Pursuit Group , then promoted to 1st lieutenant on November 1 , 1941 . World War II . Operations in England . After the United States entered the war , several squadrons of the 35th Pursuit Group in the Philippines became total losses in combat and the newly trained squadrons of the 31st PG , including the 41st PS , were detached on January 15 , 1942 , to form the core of a new 35th Group and moved to the West Coast for immediate deployment to the Pacific . The U . S . Army Air Forces then created three new squadrons to become the flying units of the 31st Group . On January 30 , 1942 , 1st Lt . Thyng became the first commanding officer of the newly created 309th Fighter Squadron , 31st Fighter Group . Initially equipped with Curtiss P - 40B Warhawk fighters , the 309th FS relocated to New Orleans to transition to the P - 39 , and trained during the spring of 1942 for deployment overseas to England . Thyng was promoted to captain on April 4 . In May , it staged to Grenier Field , New Hampshire , to train for long - distance over - water flights using drop tanks , for which the P - 39 was found to be unsuitable . The headquarters and ground echelon of the 309th FS shipped out to England on June 4 , 1942 , aboard as part of Operation Bolero . Arriving at its new base at High Ercall without aircraft on June 11 , the squadron began flight training on Spitfire V fighters provided by the RAF beginning June 26 . Its RAF instructors declared the 31st FG ready for operations in late July , the first U . S . combat group to be so rated . On July 26 , the group headquarters and its three - squadron commanders , including Major Thyng , flew a combat mission with No . 412 Squadron ( RCAF ) based at RAF Biggin Hill , a fighter sweep near Saint - Omer , France , that resulted in the loss of one 31st FG Spitfire . Thyng ' s 309th FS was relocated twice , first to RAF Warmwell , Dorset , in late July , and then to RAF Westhampnett , Sussex , on August 4 , where it became operational , flying its first operational mission the next day . Its scheduled missions were " Rodeos " , feint s to decoy German fighter opposition , and convoy escorts , but on August 9 Major Thyng and a wingman flew a defensive patrol over the English Channel in which Thyng claimed a Junkers Ju 88 damaged , the first claim by a U . S . fighter during the war . His personal aircraft was a Spitfire V he nicknamed " Mary & James " after his wife and son , bearing the squadron identification codes WZ — A . On August 19 , 1942 , the 31st Fighter Group flew eleven missions and 123 sortie s in support of Operation Jubilee , the Allied raid on Dieppe , France . There it encountered its first opposition from Luftwaffe fighters and recorded its first kills . Thyng was granted a " probable " kill of an Fw 190 and was awarded the Silver Star for flying top cover for a rescue mission of a downed 31st FG pilot . On August 20 the 309th FS conducted the first American escort mission for U . S . B - 17 Flying Fortress bombers , and on August 29 the 31st FG flew its first group mission . The 31st flew several days of escort missions for U . S . Douglas A - 20 light bombers at the beginning of September , and then stood down from operations except for defensive reactions until a final escort mission on October 2 , its last before transferring to the Twelfth Air Force . On October 26 , 1942 , the 31st shipped its Spitfires by sea to Gibraltar , to provide air support for Operation Torch as part of the Twelfth Air Force . North African combat . The advanced command post of the Twelfth Air Force ordered two squadrons of the 31st Fighter Group to fly into Tafaraoui Airfield near Oran , newly captured by the U . S . 1st Infantry Division . 24 Spitfires of the 308th and 309th FS , including Major Thyng , took off from Gibraltar at 15 : 40 . They arrived in Algeria at 17 : 00 and observed four aircraft circling overhead , mistakenly identified as RAF Hawker Hurricane s . The 12 Spitfires of the 308th FS landed without incident but as the 309th began landing , it was attacked by the four aircraft , now seen to be Vichy French Dewoitine D . 520 fighters . A 309th Spitfire was shot down and its pilot killed . Major Thyng and two other 31st FG pilots counter - attacked and shot down three of the four D . 520 ' s . ( " USAF Historical Study No . 105 , Air Phase of the North African Invasion , November 1942 " , Thomas J . Mayock ) The 31st deployed to a forward base at Thelepte , Tunisia , which it temporarily evacuated during the German breakthrough at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass . Thyng won a second Silver Star attacking German armored force s during the battle and was shot down twice , once by British anti - aircraft fire . Suffering a broken ankle during his recovery from the shoot down by the latter , Thyng continued flying with the aid of a sling rigged by his crew chief to enable him to operate the Spitfire ' s rudder . Thyng officially was credited with shooting down 4 Bf 109 fighters while commanding the 309th to be recognized as an ace on May 6 , 1943 . Thyng , promoted to lieutenant colonel in February , moved up to second - in - command of the 31st Fighter Group n May 12 , 1943 , and continued operations until wounded in action . Lt . Col . Thyng officially was credited with 162 combat sorties and 5 planes destroyed . Although many unofficial accounts credit him with as many as eight kills , including an Italian fighter , only five are recognized officially by the Air Force ( " USAF Historical Study No . 85 , USAF Credits for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft , World War II " , Wesley P . Newton et al . ) . Duty in the Central Pacific . Thyng was promoted to full colonel at the age of 26 and returned to the United States , where on November 1 , 1944 , he was made commander of the 413th Fighter Group at Bluethenthal Field , North Carolina . This group , consisting of Republic P - 47N Thunderbolt fighters , trained for long - range escort operations for B - 29 bombers of the Twentieth Air Force . On May 19 , 1945 , the group deployed to the Pacific . It conducted several strafing missions from Saipan to the Caroline Islands in May before beginning operations from Ie Shima in June . The group engaged in dive - bombing and strafing attacks on factories , radar stations , airfields , small ships , and other targets in Japan , and made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July . Thyng ' s group flew its sole B - 29 escort mission on August 8 , 1945 , to Yawata , Japan . Col . Thyng is credited with 22 sorties but despite some accounts asserting that he shot down one of the 16 Japanese aircraft credited to his group , he was not awarded any kills in this theater and the credit is likely based on submission of a " probable " . Col . Thyng remained in command of the 413th FG until October 14 , 1945 . USAF career . Col . Thyng was granted a commission in the Regular Army in 1946 and in the United States Air Force on September 18 , 1947 , when that service became an independent arm . From September 1947 through May 1950 , he served as an instructor for the Air National Guard and was instrumental in the founding of the Air Guard in the states of Maine , Vermont , and his home state of New Hampshire . On June 15 , 1950 , Col . Thyng was named commander of the 33rd Fighter - Interceptor Group , flying North American F - 86 Sabres from Otis Air Force Base , Massachusetts , and moved up to command its parent 33rd Fighter - Interceptor Wing in April 1951 . Korean War duty . Thyng deployed to Kimpo Air Base , South Korea in October 1951 and while still on unassigned duty recorded his first MiG 15 kill on October 24 , 1951 , flying with the 4th Fighter - Interceptor Wing . Leading a flight of F - 86 Sabre s , Thyng attacked a formation of 11 MiGs and hit the leader , causing him to eject . Thyng was made commander of the wing on November 1 , 1951 , at a period of time when United Nations air superiority over North Korea was being severely challenged by the communist forces . His first severe test as commander came in January 1952 when the activation of a second F - 86 wing resulted in a serious shortage of fuel wing tanks and replacement parts , dropping in - commission rates to 55 % . Thyng , going over the heads of the chain of command , warned USAF Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg that " I can no longer be responsible for air superiority in northwest Korea " because of an inability to field sufficient numbers of F - 86s to conduct combat operations . The situation was rapidly addressed by the Air Force as a result and in - commission rates rose to greater than 75 % . The spring of 1952 saw a surge in the destruction of MiGs by both F - 86 wings in Korea , but particularly in the 4th FIW . Flying with the 335th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , Col . Thyng recorded four additional MiG kills to become a jet ace on May 20 , 1952 , and was awarded his third Silver Star . Kenneth P . Werrell , in his study " Sabres over MiG Alley " , states that Thyng ' s kills in March and April likely took place over China . He cites RAF Air Marshal Sir John M . Nicholls KCB CBE DFC AFC , then a flight lieutenant exchange pilot with the 4th FIW , as stating Thyng sent him low over the primary MiG base at Antung " to stir them up " and then shot down a reacting MiG - 15 after it had taken off . He next quotes USAF Lt . Gen . Charles G . Cleveland , then a 1st lieutenant in the 335th FIS , as being in a flight led by Thyng that resulted in a shoot down north of Mukden , although the claim submission placed the location at the mouth of the Yalu River . Col . Thyng commanded the 4th FIW through October 2 , 1952 , and flew 114 missions . Although credited with the destruction of five MiGs , many accounts assert that after his 5th jet credit he began giving claims for his shoot - downs to his wingmen . Thyng flew a number of aircraft during his Korean tour , but his personal aircraft was F - 86E 50 - 0623 which carried the nickname " Pretty Mary and the J ' s " , after his family , on the lower portion of the nose . After his return to the United States , Col . Thyng had a succession of assignments with the Air Defense Command and NORAD . He served as deputy of operations for the Western Air Defense Area , as vice commander and commander of an ADC Air Division , and after promotion to brigadier general in May 1963 , as vice commander of NORAD North Region at CFB North Bay , Ontario . He also saw duty in Headquarters USAF and with the Federal Aviation Agency . In 1966 , just prior to his retirement , Gen . Thyng observed the testing of air - to - air missiles in Southeast Asia and flew several combat sorties . He retired from the Air Force on April 1 , 1966 , to go into politics . Gen . Thyng had over 650 hours of combat flight time on 307 sorties in three wars , with 10 aircraft officially credited shot down and another 6 unofficially attributed to him . Gen . Thyng had operational experience flying the P - 40 , P - 39 , Spitfire Vb , P - 47 N , F - 80 , F - 84 , F - 86 , F - 89 , F - 94 , F - 100 , F - 102 , and F - 106 fighter aircraft . Politics and retirement . Thyng and his wife , Mary Evans Thyng , whom he married on March 23 , 1940 ( the day of his commissioning ) , retired to Pittsfield , New Hampshire . In 1966 Thyng ran as the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate seat from New Hampshire held by Thomas J . McIntyre . He prevailed in a crowded Republican primary that included former governors Lane Dwinell and Wesley Powell , Party chair William R . Johnson , and Doloris Bridges , widow of 25 - year U . S . Senator Styles Bridges . In the general election , McIntyre was a strong supporter of President Lyndon B . Johnson ' s Vietnam War policy , neutralizing much of Thyng ' s appeal as a conservative and a Hawk . Because of financial support from H . L . Hunt and others , and his position on the war , Thyng was successfully painted as a far - right candidate and was defeated 54 % to 45 . 9 % . Thyng founded the New England Aeronautical Institute in 1965 , which later merged with Daniel Webster Junior College to become Daniel Webster College in Nashua , New Hampshire , and served as its first president . He retired to Pittsfield , New Hampshire . On July 17 , 2004 , a memorial to General Thyng was dedicated in Pittsfield by the Pittsfield Historical Society , with United States Senator Judd Gregg ; General Ronald Fogleman , former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force ; Lt Gen Daniel James III , Director of the Air National Guard ; and Maj Gen John Blair , New Hampshire National Guard , in attendance . Aerial victory credits . Gen . Thyng is one of six USAF pilots and seven U . S . pilots overall who achieved ace status as both a piston - engined pilot in World War II and as a jet pilot in a later conflict ( the others are Col . Francis S . Gabreski , Col . James P . Hagerstrom , Major William T . Whisner , Col . Vermont Garrison , Major George A . Davis , Jr . , and Lt . Col . John F . Bolt , USMC ) , and the only one to achieve flag - general officer rank . His credited victories :