Arthur Van Haren , Jr . Arthur Van Haren Jr . ( April 9 , 1920 – August 11 , 1992 ) was a World War II fighter pilot and considered the top fighter ace of World War II from Arizona . He may be one of very few highly decorated Hispanic fighter - pilot aces in the history of aerial warfare . Van Haren was born in Superior , AZ . His mother was Rose Valenzuela and his father , Arthur Van Haren , Sr . Arthur Sr . was a popular boxing judge and baseball umpire who was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame . Arthur Jr . shared his father ' s passion for sports becoming a star quarterback at Phoenix Union High School and playing for Coach Pop McKale at the University of Arizona . World War II . While attending the University of Arizona in Tucson , AZ . Van Haren Jr . joined the Navy at the beginning of World War II , and was part of the infamous U . S . Navy Fighting Squadron Two ( VF - 2 " Rippers " ) . VF - 2 was featured in the October 23 , 1944 Life Magazine edition as the " ace makers " squadron . Van Haren , Jr . completed his naval aviation training in 1942 . However , he was considered to be such a good pilot that the Navy made him a flight instructor , and he spent over a year teaching other Naval aviators how to fly . That year as a flight instructor proved to be invaluable to Van Haren , Jr . He was able to sharpen his flying and air gunnery skills and , at the same time , the U . S . Navy was in the process of moving from the F4F Wildcat to a more superior aircraft — the Grumman F6F Hellcat — as a way to better compete against and outclass the Japanese Zero . Based on the USS Hornet ( CV - 12 ) , a United States Navy aircraft carrier of the Essex class , Lt . Van Haren , Jr . , flew the F6F Hellcat . He downed nine confirmed enemy planes during grueling combat in the Pacific Theater skies , and had three additional unconfirmed kills . Three of his nine kills occurred in the Marianas Turkey Shoot . Some of his more notable squadron team members included Roy Voris , Daniel A . Carmichael Jr . , and his commander , William A . Dean . Van Haren , Jr . was awarded several medals and commendations including two Distinguished Flying Cross ( United States ) medals , the Air Medal , and the Presidential Unit Citation ( United States ) . He is widely regarded as Arizona ' s top Navy fighter - pilot ace of World War II . A journal kept by Van Haren Jr . sheds light on the routinely dangerous lives of being a fighter - pilot in the Pacific Theater during that time . One entry reads : Life after the war . Following his service in the Navy , Van Haren Jr . received his law degree from the University of Arizona in 1948 . As part of his legal career in Phoenix , Van Haren served as a deputy Maricopa County attorney , legal counsel to the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission , and as a City of Phoenix municipal judge . However , the majority of his days as a lawyer were spent as a defense attorney in private practice . In 2007 , Van Haren , Jr . was featured in a book entitled " A Legal History of Maricopa County , " which , among other things , documented the numerous practicing attorneys from Maricopa County who had proudly served in World War II . Van Haren died in 1992 at the age of 72 in Dewey , Arizona . His wife of more than 50 years , Elizabeth Van Haren , died in May 2009 .