Mac Ross

Military service Mac Ross was flying a P-40 when the plane caught fire during training and he had to parachute out. Ross's alma mater, West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) had a Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) created by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) in 1939 to increase the number of active pilots in America in response to the ongoing war in Europe. An investigation found it was mechanical, but Ross always felt he and the others were under intense scrutiny every time they flew. The incident made him the first ever African American member of the Caterpillar Club, an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. His flight instructor Col. C. I. Williams said, "Mac was a good pilot. It takes a special kind of individual to be a good fighter pilot. He was a pilot's pilot." Known as Class 42-C-SE, they were the first African-American U.S. Army Air Corps pilots.

On May 26, 1942, Ross was promoted to Squadron Commander of the 332nd Fighter Group's 100th Fighter Squadron, with Lt George Knox and SE-42-A classmate Charles DeBow serving as his adjutants. In July 1942, before embarking for combat, Ross was relieved as Squadron Commander and became the Group Operations Officer.

During World War II, Ross flew over 50 combat missions in the European Theater. while another source states Davis felt experience was essential for an operations officer and replaced Ross with "LT Alfonso W. Davis...a pilot with two years combat experience as operations officer." On the 10th, Ross was checking out a P-51 aircraft near Provincia di Foggia, Puglia, Italy, when his plane went into a slow, shallow descent and hit the side of a hill. Little remained physically and some thought it might have been an oxygen system failure ie. hypoxia. One source alleged his mind was not on flying due to being relieved as operations officer.

Legacy According to author Charles E. Francis, Ross was reticent and one of the most conscientious of his group.

On June 27, 1989, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Mac Ross Memorial Philatelic Room in Dayton, Ohio in honor of Ross. A plaque honoring Ross is displayed at the Dayton Post Office on East 5th Street. He was chosen for the philatelic memorial under the leadership of Postmaster Jack Kincade, who said, "Mac Ross epitomizes everything a young man or woman of today should strive for". 1941–1942, AAF MOS 770, Aviation Cadet Flight School, Tuskegee AAF 1942–1944, AAF MOS 1055, 99th Fighter Squadron, AL, French Morocco, Tunisia, Italy 1943–1943, AAF MOS 1055, 33rd Fighter Group, Qued N'ja, French Morocco; Fardjouna, Tunisia 1943–1943, AAF MOS 1055, 324th Fighter Group, Fardjouna Airfield 1943–1943, AAF MOS 1055, 33rd Fighter Group, Licata, Termini, & Barcellona Airfields, Sicily 1943–1944, AAF MOS 1055, 79th Fighter Group, Salsola, Madna, & Capodichino Airfields 1944–1944, AAF MOS 1055, 324th Fighter Group, Cercola & Pignataro Airfields 1944–1944, AAF MOS 1055, 332nd Fighter Group, Ciampino, Orbetello, & Ramitelli Airfields

Awards Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)