Richard W. Fellows
Richard William Fellows  |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
September 7, 1914 Algoma, Wisconsin |
| Died | August 7, 1998 (aged 83) Riverside, California |
| Place of burial | United States Air Force Academy, Colorado |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1937-1966 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters War Cross (Greece) French Croix de Guerre with palm |
Brigadier General Richard W. Fellows (1914–1998) was a United States Air Force officer who served during World War II and the Cold War.
He was born in Algoma, Wisconsin, in 1914. He graduated from Algoma High School in 1931 and attended the University of Wisconsin for a year and a half.
In 1933, he received a Congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy. He graduated In 1937, ranking 88th in a class of 298 and assigned to the Cavalry. Second Lieutenant Fellows' first duty station was Randolph Field, Texas, where he attended pilot training school. He completed his advanced training in Pursuit at Kelly Field, Texas, and received his pilot wings in 1938. He eventually was rated as a command pilot.
Lieutenant Fellows' first assignment after Kelly Field was Nichols Field in the Philippines. He earned a combat observer rating as a member of the 2d Observation Squadron there and transferred to the Philippine Air Depot, which he commanded as a captain upon outbreak of World War II.
In December 1941 when Nichols Field became untenable, he transferred his depot to the outskirts of Manila. Depot assembly and repair operations were conducted along boulevards used as runways and in various buildings converted to shops. Although Manila was declared an "Open City" December 25, 1941, the depot continued its operations and evacuation activities to the Bataan Peninsula up until January 1, 1942, when the last P-40 Warhawk under repair was flown to Bataan as the victorious Japanese were entering the city.
On Bataan, Captain Fellows, after reorganizing the remnant of the Philippine Air Depot, was assigned as deputy of the 24th Pursuit Group organized as Infantry and charged with a beach defense mission. At the time of the fall of Bataan, Captain Fellows was serving as a pilot in the "Bamboo Fleet", composed of a handful of small civilian and military aircraft carrying supplies into Bataan from Southern Philippine bases and evacuating selected persons from the peninsula.
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