Years of service 1938–1944 | Name Fred Ohr Other work Dentist Died September 6, 2015 | |
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Battles/wars World War IIMediterranean Theater of Operations Awards Silver Star (with bronze oak leaf cluster)Distinguished Flying Cross (with bronze oak leaf cluster)Bronze StarAir Medal (with three silver, and three bronze oak leave clusters) Service/branch | ||
Commands held 2d Fighter Squadron | ||
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Fred F. Ohr (July 15, 1919 – September 6, 2015) was an American World War II ace, credited with the destruction of six aircraft in the air and 17 on the ground.
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He was born in 1919 in Idaho to Korean immigrants Wanda and Wan Ju, and grew up on a farm in the Boise, Idaho basin. Out of high school he joined the military in 1938 but was not on the path to becoming a pilot until inadvertently participating in a pilot examination in 1940.
In the fall 1942 he deployed with the 68th Material Service Squadron to Britain. He served as a ground crew member in Tunisia, seeing action as his airbase was overrun. Afterwards, Ohr flew until November 1944 with the 2nd Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, ending his tour as the squadron's commanding officer. He received numerous decorations including the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star and the Air Medal with 18 Oak Leaf Clusters. He received a citation for his escort action during Operation Tidal Wave in 1943, when he and his unit intercepted three enemy fighters preparing to attack Allied bombers over a target area. He shot down one aircraft during the mission.
After the war, Ohr became a dental surgeon in Chicago.