Years of service 1940-1966 | Name Robert Baldwin | |
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Born 19 October 1917Los Angeles, California ( 1917-10-19 ) Allegiance United States of America Commands held 51st Fighter-Intercept Group Battles/wars World War IIKorean WarCold War Place of burial Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California, United States Battles and wars World War II, Korean War, Cold War | ||
Robert P. Baldwin (October 19, 1917 – April 7, 1994) was an Army Air Corps and United States Air Force pilot during World War II and Korea. He became a flying ace during the Korean War, shooting down five enemy aircraft.
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World War II
Robert Baldwin entered the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on September 28, 1939, and was commissioned a second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings at Kelly Field, Texas, on June 22, 1940. During the war, he took part in 75 combat missions, flying P-38s and P-40s in Europe between 1943-1945. As a lieutenant colonel, in May 1945 he was the commander of the 71st Fighter Squadron based at March Field, California.
Korean War chronology
1948: Col. Robert Baldwin served as a military observer in Palestine
December 1948 to July 1949: Assistant Deputy for Maintenance and Chief of Flight Operations with Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Material Area at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
July to December 1949: Attended Air Command & Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama
December 1949 to March 1950: Commander of the 56th Maintenance and Support Group at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan
March 1950 to June 1951: Col Baldwin was Deputy for Operations of the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Selfridge AFB
June 1951 to February 1953: Staff of Headquarters Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado
February 1953: Joined the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea and was promoted to Commander after 3 missions. He flew a total of 85 combat missions, and has 800 hours on the F-86 achieving 5 aerial victories plus 3 damaged in the Korean War.
Cold War chronology
September 1953 to June 1955: Commander of Kisarazu Air Base, Japan
June 1955 to November 1958: Commander of the 4750th Air Defense Group at Vincent AFB, Arizona
November 1958 to June 1962: Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon
June 1962 to July 1965: Staff of Headquarters Allied Air Forces Southern Europe
July 1965 to June 1966: His final assignment was as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans with Headquarters Air Training Command at Randolph AFB, Texas. He retired from the service in June 1966.
Decorations
Griffin was awarded the following decorations for his military service.