Louis L. Wilson Jr.

Louis Locke Wilson Jr.
Gen. Louis L. Wilson, Jr.
Born	(1919-01-10)January 10, 1919 Huntington, West Virginia
Died	June 25, 2010(2010-06-25) (aged 91) Tucson, Arizona
Buried at	USAFA Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1943–1977
Rank	General
Commands held	367th Fighter Squadron 4081st Strategic Wing Space and Missile Systems Organization Space and Missile Test Center United States Air Forces in Europe Pacific Air Forces
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War Cold War Vietnam War

Louis Locke Wilson Jr. (January 10, 1919 – June 25, 2010) was a retired General in the United States Air Force and the former commander in chief of the Pacific Air Forces.

Louis was born in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1919. He graduated from high school in that town and in 1937, after which he attended Greenbrier Military School in Lewisburg, West Virginia. After a year's service in an enlisted status with the 11th Infantry, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1939, and graduated in January 1943 with a commission as second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces. He completed military flight training/pilot training while a cadet at the academy and received an aeronautical rating as an Army Air Forces pilot concurrent with his graduation from West Point.

His first assignment was with a P-47 Thunderbolt outfit, the 358th Fighter Group, which was deployed to England in October 1943 for bomber escort duty with the Eighth Air Force. Just prior to D-Day, the group was used for interdiction missions in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Subsequently, the group was transferred to the Ninth Air Force and flew close air support missions for General George S. Patton's drive through France. During this period, his group was cited three times by the president for its performance. By the time the war had ended, Wilson flew 114 combat missions and had become commander of the 367th Fighter Squadron.