James "Earthquake McGoon" McGovern Jr.
| James B. McGovern Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Earthquake McGoon" |
| Born |
February 4, 1922 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | May 6, 1954 (aged 32) Northern Laos |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
United States Army Air Forces Central Intelligence Agency
|
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Chevalier (knight) of the French Legion of Honour |
James B. McGovern Jr. (February 4, 1922 – May 6, 1954) was a World War II fighter pilot and later Central Intelligence Agency pilot. He and co-pilot Wallace Buford were the only Americans to die in combat in the First Indochina War. At the time, they were officially employees of Civil Air Transport.
He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating from high school in 1940, he went to work for the Wright Aircraft Engineering Company in Paterson, New Jersey.
McGovern enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in May 1942. He served in China in 1944 as part of the 14th Air Force's 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group. The 118th was known for its "Black Lightning" markings on its P-51s that have been carried forward to the C-21s that they fly today as the 118th Airlift Squadron. During this time, he was credited with shooting down four Japanese Zero fighters, and destroying another five on the ground.
The nickname "Earthquake McGoon" was given to McGovern in World War II because the first four letters of his last name, and, like the namesake character in the Li'l Abner comic strip, he was a big man at 6 feet (1.8 m) and 260 pounds (120 kg) (considered large for a fighter pilot).
On December 5, 1949 a plane he was piloting crash landed in Guangxi province. The plane was flying from Hong Kong to Kunming. Its automatic direction finder failed. Additional technical trouble caused a forced landing 180 miles west of Nanning. McGovern and the other passengers were captured by Chinese guerrilla fighters. On January 4, 1950 they reached Nanning and were told they were prisoners. He was later released in May 1950.
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