Battles/wars World War II Allegiance United States of America | Battles and wars World War II | |
Born September 30, 1923
Kerman, California ( 1923-09-30 ) Service/branch United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force Years of service 1941 - February 14, 1951 Awards Distinguished Service Cross (2)
Silver Star (2)
Distinguished Flying Cross (6)
Air Medal (12) Died 14 February 1951, Sandwich, Massachusetts, United States Unit 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron Rank Lieutenant colonel (posthumously) | ||
Ray S. Wetmore (September 30, 1923 – February 14, 1951) was a leading U.S. Army air ace of World War II. He was killed after a cross country flight from California.
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World War II
Born in Kerman, California, Ray Shuey Wetmore enlisted in the US Army in November 1941 at age 18 and entered pilot training eight months later. Upon commissioning in March 1943 he joined the new 359th Fighter Group which was sent to England in October that year. Flying with the 370th Fighter Squadron, in February and March 1944 Wetmore scored his first 4.25 victories flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Upon conversion to P-51 Mustangs the group ranged farther afield and Wetmore became a 20-year-old ace with a double victory on May 19, downing two Bf-109s. At month's end his tally was 8.25. At year's end he was a captain with nearly 15 kills, flying a Mustang named Daddy's Girl.
During World War II, Wetmore had a rather entertaining story during the Battle of the Bulge. Wetmore and his wingman, Lieutenant John F. McAlevey, were sent to the area of the Battle. American gunners on the ground were told to shoot at anything they heard. The problem was, it was extremely cloudy, so American gunners shot at their own planes as well as German planes. As Wetmore was flying, a piece of flak hit his wing and burst open his wheel. His wing caught fire, but Wetmore didn't notice. His wingman, McAlevey, shouted "You're hit, Wetmore!". Wetmore went into a nosedive and extinguished the fire. McAlevey, who had also been hit, landed his plane in France, where he would return to England the next day.
Upon return from leave in the U.S., then-Captain Wetmore scored steadily from November 1944 to January 1945. In that period he downed 12 more enemy fighters including 4.5 FW-190s on January 14. His final victory was a rocket-powered Me-163 on March 15. His final score was 21.25 destroyed and one damaged in aerial combat, highest score in the 359th Fighter Group and eighth best of all Americans in the European Theater. On VE-Day he was a 21-year-old major.
Death
As a major, Wetmore commanded the 59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts. On February 14, 1951, Ray took off from Los Angeles in an F-86 Sabre on a trip to Otis. When he was on his final approach, his plane suddenly shot up skyward, and then turned towards the ground where it crashed. Ray was killed instantly. He was reported to have said that he couldn't slow the plane or eject. He was also reported to have said to the tower that, "I'm going to go up and bring it down in Wakeby Lake, so I don't hit any houses." When he died, he left a widow and four children.