Winton W. Marshall

Lieutenant General Winton Whittier Marshall (July 9, 1919 – September 19, 2015) was a United States Air Force general and flying ace. He was deputy commander in chief, U.S. Readiness Command, with headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida before retiring in 1977.

Early life Winton Whittier Marshall was born on July 6, 1919, in Detroit, Michigan. He completed flight training at Yuma Army Air Base in Arizona, and received his pilot's wings and commission as a second lieutenant in April 1943. Assigned to Las Vegas Army Air Field in Nevada, he began as a pilot with the 326th Fighter Gunnery Training Group before becoming chief of the Bell P-39 Airacobra Training Section there. In February 1945 he went to the Panama Canal Zone as a pilot with the 28th Fighter Squadron and as operations officer of the 32nd Fighter Squadron, later redesignated the 23rd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group.

Marshall shot down two more MiG-15s, including a shared destruction, on November 28. One of these fighters was flown by German Shatalov, a Soviet flying ace with five aerial victories against U.S. aircraft. On November 30, 1951, the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and other squadrons within the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing intercepted a People's Liberation Army Air Force aerial formation consisting of nine Tupolev Tu-2 bombers and 16 Lavochkin La-11s, that was attempting an aerial raid on the Cho'do Island. Marshall shot down one Tu-2 and one La-11, crediting with his fourth and fifth aerial victories and thus earning the title of flying ace. As he was attempting to shoot another La-11, which was flown by Chinese pilot Wang Tianbao, Marshall overshot as the La-11 turned hard left, resulting in the La-11 making a long deflection shot which struck the left wing of Marshall's F-86. Wang saw the F-86 going down in a spin and claimed an F-86 kill, after he returned back to his base in Northeast China. However, Marshall managed to regain consciousness and recovered his F-86 from the spin. He flew his crippled aircraft to Suwon Air Base, where it was repaired and Marshall was treated for his wounds. For his heroism during the aerial combat on November 30, he was awarded the Silver Star.

After his recovery, Marshall continued flying combat missions. He shot down his fourth MiG-15 and sixth overall aerial victory on December 5, 1951. Marshall became the fifth jet ace of the Korean War, credited with 6 1/2 enemy aircraft destroyed, seven probable, and six damaged, while flying 100 missions. In January 1952, he returned to the United States to command the 93rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

In July 1954, Marshall became chief of the Central Air Defense Force Tactical Evaluation Board at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in Missouri, where he established the first tactical evaluation system in the Air Defense Command; developed the first wind-driven tow reel target system; and headed a team of military and civilian technicians that extended radar search capability (later known as the Marshall fix) of fighter-interceptor aircraft from . In 1957, he was chief of the Central Air Defense Force Bendix Trophy Race Team flying the F-102 Delta Dagger, with his team taking first and second place.

Marshall was promoted to the grade of lieutenant general effective September 1, 1974, with date of rank August 27, 1974. He was appointed vice commander in chief of the Pacific Air Forces, in September 1974. His final assignment was as Deputy Commander in Chief of U.S. Readiness Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, from June 1975 until his retirement on September 1, 1977.

Later life Marshall died at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, on September 19, 2015.

Awards and decorations His military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; Silver Star; Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters; Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters; Bronze Star Medal; Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters; Purple Heart; from the Republic of Korea: the Order of Military Merit, Chungmu Medal with gold star and the Order of National Security Merit; and from the Republic of Vietnam: the National Order of Vietnam, 5th Class, and the Gallantry Cross with palm.

Command Pilot Air Force Distinguished Service Medalwith bronze oak leaf cluster Silver StarLegion of Meritwith three bronze oak leaf clustersDistinguished Flying Crosswith two bronze oak leaf clustersBronze Star MedalPurple HeartAir Medalwith silver oak leaf clusterAir Force Presidential Unit Citationwith bronze oak leaf clusterAmerican Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service Medalwith service starKorean Service Medalwith three bronze campaign starsVietnam Service Medalwith three bronze campaign starsAir Force Longevity Service Awardwith one silver and two bronze oak leaf clustersSmall Arms Expert Marksmanship RibbonSouth Korean Order of Military MeritChungmu Medal with gold starSouth Korean Order of National Security MeritTongil MedalNational Order of VietnamKnightRepublic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationRepublic of Vietnam Gallantry CrossUnited Nations Service Medal for KoreaVietnam Campaign MedalKorean War Service Medal

Silver Star citation

Marshall, Winton W. Colonel, U.S. Air Force 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, Fifth Air Force Date of Action: November 30, 1951

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