18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Korea

Captain ROSS CREE - "But," he said,"They NEED ME up there...!"

North Korea, May, 1951

Those who have experienced the painful loss of dear friends in battle already know the feeling. Those who have not shall probably never know; for it is impossible to truly describe such heartfelt feelings.

....But I will try to relate some of the circumstances which enabled me, personally, to learn to endure those feelings.

As a result of my Korean air war experiences, I am firmly convinced that valor and courage are not inborn, they are not hereditary; instead, they are the result of their then-current environment:

Undeniably, for me, 1950 and 1951 in Korea were vintage years for Courage, Valor and Heroism.

And, while I was associated with the 18th Fighter Group pilots of those old F-51 Mustangs, I can proudly state that: ... I ate with heroes ... I drank with heroes ... and to a certain extent, a part of me died with many of those heroes..

I hope that the personal experiences which I describe here will help to explain what I mean....

ROSS CREE ... was another 67th Squadron friend from Clark Field.

When I left the 67th to become 18th Group Intelligence Officer, Ross took over my slot as Squadron S-2 in the 67th. We had worked closely and well together, and were good friends. He was a sharp, aggressive fighter pilot, and was married to a pretty sandy-blonde girl named "Alma".

Alma, while in her younger college days... young and naive, had once dated a young Left-wing radical, who invited her to accompany him to a social meeting of a communist-front organization. She went to the one meeting, found it was "too deep" for her taste, and quit dating the young character who had invited her.

As the fates would have it, when time came for the background investigation preparatory to Ross's SECRET clearance as an Intelligence Officer, Alma's attendance at that one meeting came to light, and all hell broke loose in the upper hierarchy of Far East Air Force headquarters.

Ross was immediately taken out of his Intelligence duties ...very quietly, of course, and was subjected to weeks of intense interrogation, as was Alma ...who had unwittingly, and in complete innocence, triggered the whole tempest in a teapot by her date with the radical collegian.

Finally, about the time the Korean War began, the whole matter was cleared up, and they decided that Ross could resume his duties as an Air Force officer and fighter pilot, but, since his outfit was moving to Korea and they would not need his services as Intelligence Officer, he would not need the Secret clearance after all. Everyone was happy, it seemed, except Ross and Alma, whose good names had been slandered by the innuendoes and secret interrogation reports.

Although in different squadrons in Korea, I would see Ross almost daily as he stopped at Taegu to refuel and rearm his F-51, but, by then things were somehow "different" between us. The shadow of suspicion, however involuntary on my part, had eased down between us, almost as a silky, translucent curtain. I knew there could never be anything disloyal about Ross ...or Alma, but the subconscious questions remained.

Ross did a helluva good job as a '51 fighter pilot for the 67th, racking up close to 75 successful missions before he was finally sent back to the Philippines for a "rest break" early in January, 1951.

He returned to Korea in May, 1951, when it was decreed that all fighter pilots must complete 100 combat missions before they could return to the United States.

Ross immediately began flying with the 39th Squadron, out of Chinhae, and Seoul City Airport and soon, on May 24th, picked up a .50 cal. machine gun bullet in his arm... just above the elbow. Fortunately, it tore into the fleshy, lower part, but it made a nasty gash, and was undoubtedly very painful.

It was Ross's 90th combat mission.

After being in the Far East for almost a full year beyond his "normal" two year overseas tour, he fantasized that he might be returned to the 'States to recuperate.

I saw Ross on May 25th, 1951, with his arm all bandaged and in a sling; he was a little perturbed because he had found that he would not be sent home, but he had resigned himself to going the full 100 missions, and the injury was keeping him grounded while the current Chinese Spring Offensive was going on ... "they need me up there..." he said, repeatedly.

By June 1st, just one short week after being wounded, Cree apparently convinced the Flight Surgeon and the C.O. that his arm was no longer bothering him ...it had "healed" enough for him to start flying again.

I found it incredibly hard to believe ...after just one week on the ground...!

So Ross Cree, friend and contemporary, took off on another combat mission on the morning of June 1st, 1951 ...just because he thought ..."they need me up there..."

It was his 91st combat mission in Korea. He was hit by enemy ground fire even before he could release his bombs or rockets; his airplane simply rolled over onto it's back, and he drove the Mustang twenty feet into a fertile rice paddy of North Korea.

"...but they need me up there..." Ross had told me...!

We corresponded with his wife, Alma for a few years after Ross's death, until she finally remarried. She received Ross's Air Medals, his Distinguished Flying Crosses ...and his Purple Heart from the Air Force. But she always wondered, as I did...

..."Why?" Why did Ross Cree fly again so soon after receiving the serious wound in his arm, and who cleared him to resume flying combat ...or did he simply "steal" the airplane.

But why should anyone be so foolhardy. Should I consider Ross Cree to be a Hero, or a Fool?

Ross Cree's Citations won't be found encased in glass at the Air Force Academy, because he wasn't awarded the Medal of Honor for his dedication to duty. But only because there were none of the old Clark Field bunch left around to pick up the torch, as Don Bolt had done for Lou Sebille, to press for the higher honors which Ross so richly deserved.

I drink to his memory, and to his eternal good health... Captain Ross Cree, Reserve Officer, United States Air Force, a dedicated and loyal American beyond question!

Duane E. 'Bud' Biteman,
Lt. Col, USAF, Ret
‘...One of those Old, Bold Fighter Pilots’
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