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Triple ace who fought in two wars dies

Robin Olds, one of the legends of the Air Force, died of congestive heart failure Thursday at the age of 84.

A retired brigadier general, he died at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colo., according to a release from the Air Force.

Olds achieved almost legendary status in the Vietnam War, developing a flamboyant leadership style, with a full, handlebar mustache and a panache that was an inspiration to younger pilots. Though a wing commander, he led by example, taking combat to the enemy. His F-4C Phantom fighter “Scat XXVII” — all his airplanes’ names started with the word “Scat” — is in the National Museum of Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Olds was rated a “triple ace” for having shot down a confirmed total of 16 enemy aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War, with another 11 aircraft destroyed on the ground.

His assignments ranged from England, Germany and Libya to Thailand and the United States, and his positions in command or senior staff went from squadron, base, group and wing commander to assignments to Air Force headquarters and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Triple-ace Robin Olds’ legendary leadership and heroic service to the cause of freedom have been an inspiration to our nation and our Air Force,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. “He is one of our ‘great captains’ and a pioneer of air power.

“He became an ace with 12 aerial victories during World War II, flying P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs, and later shot down four MiGs in Vietnam to bring his total to 16. He also led the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing — the famed “Wolfpack” — to a record 24 aerial victories, a total unsurpassed by any other wing during the war in Southeast Asia,” Moseley said.

“Throughout his career, he was a staunch advocate for better fighters, better pilot training and new tactics, culminating in the war-winning air-to-air tactics and doctrine of surgical precision bombing we use today,” Moseley said.

Olds was born in Honolulu on July 14, 1922, the son of Maj. Gen. Robert and Eloise Olds. He spent his younger years in Hampton, Va., and attended the Military Academy at West Point, where he was an All-American tackle. He graduated in 1943 as a second lieutenant.

Following graduation from pilot training in 1943, Olds was assigned to the European Theater at the end of World War II, where he flew 107 combat missions. During the Vietnam War, he flew 152 combat missions in the F-4 Phantom as the wing commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Air Base, Thailand.

Olds’ exploits as the creator and mission commander of Operation Bolo, the most successful aerial battle of the Vietnam War, have been documented in the recent History Channel Dogfights Special series “Air Ambush.”

Non-combat honors include assignment in 1946 to the first jet P-80 squadron, membership in the first jet Aerial Acrobatic Demonstration Team, second-place showing in the Thompson Trophy Race jet division in 1946 and participation in the first dawn-to-dusk transcontinental round trip flight. He was a squadron commander of the British Royal Air Force’s 1 Squadron, a fighter unit based in Sussex, U.K., during a 1948 exchange tour.

Olds’ military decorations begin with the Air Force Cross. He also was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 39 oak leaf clusters, British Distinguished Flying Cross, French Croix de Guerre, Vietnam Air Force Distinguished Service Order, Vietnam Air Gallantry Medal with gold wings and the Vietnam Air Service Medal.

After his duty in Vietnam, Olds was commandant of cadets at the Air Force Academy from 1967 to 1971. His last assignment before retiring from the Air Force in 1973 was as director of safety for the Air Force.

He was married to Ella Raines, who died in 1988, and then to Morgan Olds.

Olds is survived by two daughters, Christina Olds of Vail, Colo., and Susan Scott-Risner of North Bend, Wash.; one granddaughter, Jennifer Newman of Santa Monica, Calif., and half-brother, Fred Olds of Virginia.

A memorial service will be held at the Air Force Academy on July 7. The service and his family ask that memorials be made to the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association toward scholarships for the children or spouses of armed forces aircrew members killed or missing in action.