‘Citizen soldier’ became hero with Hell Hawks in Europe - Air Force Community - Air Force Times

‘Citizen soldier’ became hero with Hell Hawks in Europe

When retired Col. James G. Wells died Jan. 11 at age 86, the Air Force lost a hero and a combat leader.

Wells started from an everyday upbringing and became one of the great fighter pilots of World War II. Like so many of his era, he was a “citizen soldier,” the son of a Houston railroad brakeman. Wells began with no particular aspiration to military service but heard the message clearly when duty called.

“If one word described Jimmy Wells, that word was ‘class,’” said retired Lt. Col. William L. Ward, who flew P-47 Thunderbolts with Wells in the 365th Fighter Group, the Hell Hawks, in Europe.

“By the time I met him he was our squadron commander,” said retired Col. James “Mac” McWhorter, another wingman, referring to the Hell Hawks’ 386th Fighter Squadron. “He was a Texan, with slow, drawling speech. If Jimmy liked you, it was good. If he didn’t like you, he would show it: You had to prove yourself to him. He was very fair. He was very ‘to the point.’”

While many airmen fought the war from bases in England, the Hell Hawks went into Normandy after the June 6, 1944, invasion. From D-Day until the end of the war, they fought from newly liberated bases in France, Belgium and Germany, never far from the infantrymen they supported.

During the Battle of the Bulge, they smashed Adolf Hitler’s last-gasp effort at a counteroffensive.

Wells and the Hell Hawks primarily fought an air-to-ground war, faced also with opposition from the Luftwaffe, the German air force. Wells almost became an air ace. He was credited with shooting down four German fighters, including two in a single battle, with one “probable” kill.

Wells left the Air Force when the war ended and became one of the nation’s first corporate pilots, hauling around the chief executive of Sinclair Oil Co. His son Joey Wells said Wells was briefly a member of the Texas Air National Guard’s 111th Fighter Squadron in the postwar years.

Like many, Wells was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. According to his son, he was assigned as a forward air controller but “snuck in” seven combat missions in the F-86 Sabre jet fighter.

According to family records, he later piloted the F-89 Scorpion interceptor. He commanded several radar stations at the height of the Cold War, retiring in 1963 after a tour of duty in Spain. He told a family member that while in Spain, he flew an F-104 Starfighter at Mach 2.2.

Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of “Air Combat,” a history of fighter pilots. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and is working as the regimental historian for the Army Judge Adocate General’s Corps. He is the author of “Kimmel, Short and Pearl Harbor.” His e-mail address is borchfj@aol.com.