U.S. fighter pilots return in peace to Korean skies

Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!

Bring me my chariot of fire!

— William Blake

SEOUL — For a group of Americans landing at Inchon International Airport last week, the Korean skies were familiar. But the last time they flew them, it was not in a ponderous Boeing 747 but in the sleek fighters that fought the world’s first jet-versus-jet combat.

The 60th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force fell on Sept. 18. With Korea being the first war the service fought independently — during World War II, air units were part of the U.S. Army — eight veteran fighter pilots returned to tour their former battlefield, pay respects at the National Cemetery and visit serving airmen.

A lust to fly and strong patriotism were key qualities for the pilots.

“I certainly grew up with a strong desire to fly and began to have a curiosity about the big picture, the future of the nation,” said retired Col. Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

“You had to have good eyes and quick reactions. Good musicians make good pilots, as they are coordinated and have quick reflexes,” said retired Col. Ralph “Hoot” Gibson. “But motivation is the key.”

A more unusual case was that of retired Lt. Col. Harold Fischer, who believed he had in a past life been a German pilot with four kills — and wanted a fifth. He would realize his desire.

Supersonic duelists

Various instruments, including gun sights, were missing during early missions. In peacetime, flying conditions were “a 1,500-feet ceiling and three miles’ visibility” but once hostilities began, they changed to “a 200-feet ceiling and half-mile visibility — in the rain,” said retired Maj. Gen. Carl Schneider, who lost two comrades in an in-flight collision.

But they got results.

“Our Air Force destroyed the North Korean air force in three weeks,” said retired Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland. “After that, we had air superiority.”

Sterner opposition, however, was on the horizon. When the Chinese plunged into the war, so did MiG-15 jets and Russian pilots. The opposing aircraft flew at roughly the same speed; MiGs could climb higher, but the U.S. F-86 Sabers could dive more nimbly. A war of supersonic combat over a 100-mile strip of land along the Manchurian border that the Americans dubbed “MiG Alley” began.

Even 50 years later, the pilots’ eyes gleam and their hands mimic the motions of the dogfight as they recall their duels.

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