David Lee " Tex " Hill David Lee " Tex " Hill ( July 13 , 1915 – October 11 , 2007 ) was a fighter pilot and flying ace in World War II , with later service in Korea . Early life . He was born in Kwangju , Korea , the son of Presbyterian missionaries , but raised in Texas . " Tex " graduated from San Antonio Academy , San Antonio , Texas , in 1928 and from McCallie School in Chattanooga , Tennessee , in 1934 . Tex then attended Texas A & M for two years before transferring to Austin College , from which he graduated in 1938 . He was also a founding member of the Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity in 1932 . Service history . Hill earned his wings as a U . S . Naval Aviator in 1939 and joined the fleet as a TBD Devastator torpedo bomber pilot aboard the " USS Saratoga " before joining a Vought SB2U Vindicator dive bomber squadron aboard " USS Ranger " . In 1941 , he was recruited with other Navy , Army and Marine Corps pilots to join the 1st American Volunteer Group ( better known by its later nickname of the Flying Tigers ) . He learned to fly the P - 40 in the AVG training program in Burma , and did well as a fighter pilot in the 2nd Pursuit Squadron ( Panda Bear ) as a flight leader and then squadron commander , becoming one of the top aces under the tutelage of Claire Chennault . Hill landed his first kills on January 3 , 1942 when he downed two Nate s over the Japanese airfield at Tak , Thailand . He shot down two more on January 23 , and became an ace on the 24th when he shot down a fighter and a bomber over Rangoon . In March , he succeeded Jack Newkirk as Squadron Leader of the Second Squadron . By the time the AVG was disbanded in the summer of 1942 , Hill was a double ace , credited with 12 ¼ victories . On May 7 , 1942 , the Japanese Army began building a pontoon bridge across the Salween River , which would allow them to move troops and supplies into China . To stem this tide , 2nd Squadron Leader Hill led a flight of four new P - 40Es bombing and strafing into the mile deep gorge . During the next four days , the AVG pilots flew continuous missions into the gorge , effectively neutralizing the Japanese forces . From that day on , the Japanese never advanced farther than the west bank of the Salween . Claire Chennault would later write of these critical missions , " The American Volunteer Group had staved off China ' s collapse on the Salween . " On Thanksgiving Day 1943 , he led a force of 12 B - 25 s , 10 P - 38 s , and 8 new P - 51 s from Saichwan , China , on the first strike against Formosa . The Japanese had 100 bombers and 100 fighters located at Shimchiku Airfield , and the bombers were landing as Hill ’ s force arrived . The enemy managed to get seven fighters airborne , but they were promptly shot down . Forty - two Japanese airplanes were destroyed , and 12 more were probably destroyed in the attack . The American force returned home with no casualties . After the deactivation of the Flying Tigers in July 1942 , Hill was one of only five Flying Tigers to join its USAAF successor , the USAAF 23rd Fighter Group , with the rank of major . He activated the 75th Fighter Squadron and later commanded the 23rd Fighter Group as a Colonel . Before returning to the states in late 1944 , Hill and his P - 51 scratched another six Japanese aircraft . It is believed that he was the first to down a Zero with a P - 51 . Altogether , Hill was credited with destroying 18 . 25 enemy aircraft . The . 25 kills comes from an assist ; he and 3 other pilots worked together to shoot down a Nate . In 1944 , Hill returned to the U . S . and took command of the 412th Fighter Group , America ' s first operational jet fighter group flying the P - 59 Airacomet and the P - 80 Shooting Star . He separated from active service in 1945 . Postwar , in July 1946 , Hill was asked by Texas Governor Coke Stevenson to activate and accept command of the 58th Wing of the Texas Air National Guard . Hill activated Guard units throughout the Gulf Coast and became the youngest Brigadier General in the history of the Guard . He once again saw combat during the Korean War with the Texas Air Guard . He ended his military career in the Air Force Reserves , retiring as a Brigadier General . He holds the Distinguished Service Cross , Silver Star , Distinguished Flying Cross with three Oak Leaf Clusters , Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster , Chinese Order of the Cloud and Banner 4th , 5th and 6th grades , 2 - Star Wing Decorations , Chinese Victory Medal , Legion of Merit , and British Distinguished Flying Cross . Later life . He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1968 . In 1999 , Hill was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame located at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston , Texas . In 2002 , he was conveyed an honorary lifetime member of the U . S . Air Force Auxiliary ( Civil Air Patrol ) with a squadron of the CAP named in his honor — the Tex Hill Composite Squadron , of San Marcos , TX ( SWR - TX - 435 ) . This squadron went on to become the third largest in the nation and in 2003 became the most decorated squadron in the nation receiving the Texas Squadron of Merit , Texas Emergency Services Squadron of the Year , Regional ( SW Region of the USA ) Squadron of Distinction , and National Squadron of Distinction . Hill died at the age of ninety - two on October 11 , 2007 in Terrell Hills , Texas , of congestive heart failure . More than 2 , 000 people attended his funeral . He was buried at nearby Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery . On November 2 , 2007 , the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg observed " Tex " Hill Day with speeches , patriotic music , and friends ' memories of the fallen hero . On November 2 , 2008 , the Air Force Heritage Flight at the Lackland Air Show in San Antonio was dedicated to Hill . It consisted of an F - 22 , an F - 15E , an F - 16C , and a P - 40 like the one Hill flew with the AVG . The NEISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name Middle School 14 after World War II fighter pilot and combat ace David Lee " Tex " Hill at its regular meeting Monday , June 17 , 2013 . North East ISD names new school after David Lee " Tex " Hill . http : / / www . neisd . net / ComRel / News / NEISD _ MiddleSchool14 _ named _ 13 . htm