The Real First “C” Flight Commander – Capt. Richard S. Becker


In an old email (date unknown) from Fred Horky (one of the first LOs to take the Mace to Sembach AB) to Bob Bolton (887th TMS)

Fred Stated…”the original “C” flight commander was Captain Richard S Becker; who organized and trained the flight at Orlando, took it through Holloman for live launches, and then through that do-it-yourself build-a-site at Grünstadt plus the first couple of years overseas. Dick was wearing pilot wings when I reported to him at Orlando, so naturally I asked him “what”, “where”, etc.. He indicated that he was no longer flying, but not much more. In fact, he didn’t talk about his flying experiences at ALL. I later learned that he had been the 2nd jet ace in the Korean War, making him the 2nd Jet Ace in HISTORY! Later he had an eye injured in an accident and was grounded, and never flew again. The picture below was during the Fall 1959 A3A van renovation period while still in training on Sembach. It must have been discouraging that day! Left to right: Chandler, Burker, and Becker.” See attached picture. Fred continued…” By the way, with the end of the Cold War and opening of Soviet archives (and the accounts of Russian pilots who are finally able to acknowledge that they were even there, and flying MiG combat!) there is greatly increased interest in the Korean War, especially the F-86 vs. Migs. There has been some revisionism and accounting with some folks claiming that Becker was actually the FIRST jet ace! Fred”

Chandler, Burker & Becker (photo courtesy of Bob Bolton/Fred Horky)
Chandler, Burker & Becker (photo courtesy of Bob Bolton/Fred Horky)

This article is courtesy of Bob Bolton.