Loss of our legends: Two Fighting 49ers join the Honor Roll
As members of the US Armed Forces, we face a sad inevitability that our World War II generation is quickly passing. Each day, more than 1,000 World War II veterans die, leaving behind the memory of their service and a stronger nation built upon the hard fought principles of liberty and freedom.
It is impossible to comprehend the daily loss of 1,000 veterans. Each person had their own unique experiences and stories. While many accounts have been permanently recorded through interviews, books, and films, most have passed quietly into history, with the results of their service speaking for itself.
However, the 49th Fighter Wing has recently lost two of its founders and dearest friends, who epitomized our early history: Col (Ret) Walter Dorrer and Capt Fred Dick. Both men not only served heroically in war-time, but remained active members of the 49th Fighter Group Association, which has now placed their names upon a list of those who have passed away--known as the Honor Roll.
Captain Frederick E. Dick joined the 7th Fighter Squadron on December 19, 1943 and flew with the squadron until March 14, 1945. Completing 210 combat missions, Captain Dick flew his single-seat fighter in skip-bombing, dive-bombing, intercept, patrol, escort, and strafing missions across the South Pacific.
On March 6, 1945, Captain Dick led a formation of 7th Fighter Squadron P-38s during a B-25 escort mission to Hainan Island in the South China Sea. As the Lightnings reached the target area, they encountered 15 to 20 Japanese Zero fighters. The P-38s not only protected the allied bombers, but Captain Dick immediately shot down one of the enemy fighters. This marked Captain Dick’s fifth confirmed aerial victory—earning him the title of ace. In fact, Captain Dick became the last Fighting 49er to achieve ace status.
After World War II, most units in the US Army Air Forces inactivated. In the history of our nation, we never kept a large standing military force in peacetime--until the Cold War. Yet, the 49th Fighter Wing remained in service as an occupational force in Japan and Walter Dorrer served as an important part of that effort.
In World War II, Colonel Dorrer had been injured by a .50 caliber machine gun bullet. Despite his World War II service and injuries, he volunteered to remain in the Army Air Forces and then the newly created Air Force. From October 1946 to February 1947, Dorrer flew P-51Ds with the 7th Fighter Squadron at Chitose, Japan, patrolling for illegal shipping, and serving as the squadron’s safety officer. Dorrer recalled the harsh conditions at Chitose, “Because of being so far north, on Hokkaido, the winds blow down out of Siberia; the winters at Chitose were especially long and cold. I recall snow flurries as early as mid-October and a total accumulation of over 12 feet during the winter.”
As the Korean War began, Dorrer was assigned to fix management problems in the 49th Motor Vehicle Squadron (later 49th Transportation Squadron). During his year of service, he revamped the motor pool, turning it into a squadron able to support the heavy demands of the Korean War. Remembering the endless hard work put into the war, Dorrer wrote, “I was part of our rear echelon to support our 49th Fighter Group in Korea. We were working about 12 to 14 hours a day. During this critical time period some of the guys didn’t get to bed at all for two or three days at a time.”
Returning to the air in 1951, Dorrer flew transport aircraft, often providing aid to surrounded Allied units deep inside enemy territory. During the Korean War, he flew 134 combat missions. Marking his third combat tour, Colonel Dorrer served as the Seventh Air Force’s Director of Logistics Plans during the Vietnam War.
As well as seeing three decades of combat, Colonel Dorrer served as the logistics officer for Air Force One. Through this role, he provided air transport for Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
During their military service and in civilian life, Colonel Dorrer and Captain Dick exemplified selflessness and honor. They are not unknown faces in black-and-white photographs. Rather, they are part of our Fighting 49er family. They created the heritage that we stand on and laid the foundations of service and sacrifice which now falls upon our shoulders. May they never be forgotten.