Payne Jennings Jr. (October 26, 1916 - March 29, 1951), a World War II veteran and the Korean War, perhaps best known for his involvement with the 1947 Roswell UFO Incident, is a highly decorated United. United States Air Force Officer.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, and received high school education in La Jolla, California, and two years of technical training at the General Motors Technology Institute in Flint, Michigan. His military training included: Spartan School of Aeronautics, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Fly Base, Randolph Field, Texas; Advanced Flying Kelly Field, Texas; Training of Bomb Commander, Sandia Base, New Mexico; and, Radar Bombing Indoctrination, Mather AFB, California.
After receiving his commission in 1940, Jennings was assigned as flight instructor at Randolf Field; followed by Maxwell Field, Alabama; and, then Hendricks Field, Florida. At Hendricks he served as aviation director at Combat Crew School, and commanding officer of School Instructor.
Video Payne Jennings Jr.
World War II
Between April 8 and June 5, 1943 Jennings was in separate service with Headquarters, Army Air Force, Washington, DC serving as a B-17 pilot carrying Air Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, on a secret mission to almost any space active operation, then back to Hendricks Field.
On July 26, 1943 he set out to serve in India's Burma Theater of Operations, where he served as head of training and flying safety for the entire theater, and pilot for General Stratemeyer, general commander and head of Operations Section (Eastern Air Command). He also oversaw air transfers from the Air Force Headquarters from India to China.
Maps Payne Jennings Jr.
Between the war
In October 1945, Jennings returned to the United States, where he was assigned to the 509 Composite Group stationed at Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico. He was assigned duties as commander of the Air Transportation Unit during the Intersection Operation (Bikini Atoll - Atomic Bomb Test) and served overseas from 6 May to 19 August 1945. As Air Transportation Commander of the Combined Task Force One, he operated overseas carriers with terminals on Kwajelein Island, Kwajaelain Atoll, Marshall Islands and Roswell, New Mexico. The unit operates during a five-month deployment without loss of aircraft and no personnel casualties. During the Able Test, Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, flew on one of the B-17 aircraft carriers that sent control airplanes through the clouds shortly after the explosion.
Following the Crossroads project, August 23, 1946, Jennings was assigned as deputy commander of the 509th Bombing Group with additional duty as deputy commander of the base. The 509 was a Heavy Bomber Air Force with a fully operational nuclear attack capability in February 1947. On 8 July 1947, Colonel William H. Blanchard, Commander of Base 509 issued an official Air Force press release stating that the basic intelligence office had recovered what called "flying disks" not far from Roswell triggered the Roswell UFO Incident. Apparently, the wreckage had been discovered weeks earlier by a local rancher, and after General Roger M. Ramey was told, he ordered the plane to be flown to the Fort Worth Army Air Field. Although Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings never affirmed his involvement with such incidents, he has been repeatedly identified in various reports and written statements to engage personally, including driving B-29s, with recovered and questionable debris, to Ft.. Worth Texas.
On December 5, 1947, Jennings was transferred to the Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, with the task of chief of staff of the Air Task Group, (Operation of Sand Stone - Atomic Bomb Test). He served overseas during the project from 8 February to 1 June 1948, and was appointed commander of the Air Task Group on February 10, 1948.
From 7 July 1948, until 30 June 1949, Jennings was assigned to the 22nd Bomb Group as Commander of Group B-29, stationed at the Smoky Hill Air Force Base, Kansas; 3-month detachment at Lakenheath, England; and then at the Air Force Base in March, California. He was assigned to Army HQ, 22 Bombardment Wing on 1 July 1949, serving as group commander and director of wing operations.
Korean War
On July 5, 1950, a detachment of the 22nd Bomb Group was assigned to the Headquarters of the Far East Yokota AFB, Tokyo, Japan, as head of combat operations and deputy assistant for operations. Immediately upon arrival, Jennings was directly involved in the action. On July 13 after the first major strike of the Korean War, Jennings, to gain visual reconnaissance from the destroyed Wonsan Oil Refinery, entered alone in the B-29 under a 400-foot ceiling in the rain at 280 mph. where a nearby airfield (enemy air path) is fired upon, a large oil tank is blown up, the city is worked on, and almost shows an empty exchange with flak batteries fired from nearby hills. Jennings and his crew got surveillance photos and Jennings was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the mission.
On September 26, 1950, Jennings was promoted to full colonel and assigned to Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan Headquarters, the 19th Bomb Group as the group commander. In addition to overseeing the 28th, 30th, and 98th Squadron command, Jennings personally flew in over 28 bombing missions, some of which he led. During the first three months of the war, the 19th performed at an intense and remarkable level of operation where the 19th continued flying at the highest possible sortie level that could be maintained by the seven-day week. The group flew 128 missions on Christmas Day since the onset of hostilities on June 25 and without a single replacement since the war began.
In addition to being the first bombing group to enter the Korean War, the 19th Bombardment Group has an exclusive experimental weapon, a radio-guided bomb called the Tarbi VB-13 Bomb. This 12,000-pound bomb requires special conditioning at the bottom of three B-29s, one missing with Colonel Jennings and his crew on March 29, 1951. Apparently B-29, # 1749, lost two machines in an attempt to rescue the Tarzon bomb at a very high altitude low above the ocean, resulting in a premature explosion that kept their plane crashed. After a full-scale area search, no trace of B-29 or found, and the search was stopped on 7 April 1951. He received the Legion of Merit for his work with the Tarzon bomb program.
At the end of the Korean War in 1953, the 19th Bomb Group had lost 91 crew members and 20 B-29s and was awarded the ninth US Presidency Award and the Korean President's Quote. To date, the 19th has the distinction of being the most decorated unit in the Strategic Air Command and one of the most decorated units in the U.S. Military Service.
In his honor, The Payne Jennings Trophy has been created and awarded to a strategic reconnaissance bombardment or wing that won seven competitive bomber-race missions conducted by the Air Force's Strategic Air Force from October 1954 to December 1955. The trophy was discontinued and, in 1965 , on display at the 99th Bombardment headquarters foyer at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts.
Decorations and awards
- Silver Star
- Ã, Legion of Merit
- Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster
- Ã, Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster
- Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters
- Army Praise Medal with one Oak Leaf Group
- Purple Heart
- American Campaign Medal
- Victory Medal of World War II
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Silver Service Star
- Asia Pacific Campaign Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- UN Service Medal
- Korean Service Medal with three Star Bronze Services
- Republican Republican Presidency Quotes
- Korean War Service Medal (50th Birthday Design)
- Presidential Unit Citation
- Flight Badge "Senior Pilot Wing"
- Foreign Award - Honorary Air Force Chinese Wing
References
- Hessemann/Mantle, Beyond Roswell, page 31 & amp; 59
- Randle/Schmitt, UFO Crash at Roswell, page 54, 81-83
- Berlitz/Moore, Roswell Incident, page 45, 46 & amp; 48
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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