Robert Manning Gray

Robert Manning Gray (May 24, 1919 – October 18, 1942) was a United States Army Air Forces pilot who was the pilot of B-25B (#40-2270), "Whiskey Pete", during the Doolittle Raid in World War II and is the namesake of Robert Gray Army Airfield near Killeen, Texas.

Biography

Gray was born in Killeen on May 24, 1919. He graduated from Killeen High School where he was a football player for the Kangaroos. He attended Tarleton College (now Tarleton State University) participated in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps and earned his pilot's license. He also attended Texas A&M known then as Texas A.M.C.

In June 1940, he left college to attend the US Air Corps’ Aviation Cadet Program at Kelly Field Gray Street in Killeen was also renamed in his honor. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9192 in Killeen is named the Bob Gray VFW Post.

In 1944, character actor Robert Mitchum would portray Gray in the movie 30 Seconds over Tokyo.

In 1948, the Air Force named Robert Gray Air Force Base, near Fort Hood, Texas after him. The base was handed over to the Army in 1963 and became Robert Gray Army Air Field.

His Distinguished Flying Cross citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Robert Manning Gray, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Pilot of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. First Lieutenant Gray with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service.