Retired Col. Donald J.M. Blakeslee, one of the top scoring aces of World War II, died Sept. 3 at age 90 in Miami, Fla., per a notice in the Sun Sentinel. According to the official Air Force record, Blakeslee scored 11.5 victory credits as a member of the Army Air Forces. However, various accounts note that he flew first with the Royal Canadian Air Force, making three kills by 1942 when he transferred to an American Eagle Squadron with the Royal Air Force and shot down two more enemy aircraft before the AAF incorporated his unit in September 1942. He flew Spitfires, P-47, and P-51 fighters. He took command of the 4th Fighter Group in January 1944.
More A-10s Deploy to Middle East, This Time from Idaho
March 31, 2025
Multiple A-10 attack aircraft from the Idaho Air National Guard deployed to the Middle East over the weekend. More than 300 Airmen from the 124th Fighter Wing, along with the attack aircraft, were sent to southwest Asia within U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility on March 29.