JAMES E. RUTHERFORD.
Pilot · 329th Squadron · Of Mart, TX, TX.
The man.
Flew as lead pilot in 329th Bomb Sqdn., 93rd Bomb Group, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force in England, in B-24 Little Chum. Completed 30 combat missions and sailed for the USA on V-E Day.
Service record.
Before and after.
Born April 11, 1921 in Mart, TX. After two years of college, entered aviation cadets -- cadet officer at each station. Graduated as second lieutenant, Class 43-K, from Ellington Field, TX. Trained in B-24s at Liberal, KS. Flew B-24 Little Chum (named after wife Dorothy Wemple) from Topeka, KS to the European Theater of Operations.
Voluntarily discharged July 25, 1945; returned to Waco, TX. Recalled to active duty as captain in 1951: instructor pilot in ATC in Texas (until 1955); rescue aircraft commander in Alaska (until 1958); base operations officer at Larson AFB, WA; radar operations at Roswell AFB, NM; Keflavik AFS, Iceland; Norton AFB, CA; Luke AFB, AZ; Qui Nhon, Vietnam (airfield commander); HQ 7th Air Force, Tan Son Nhut (Plans). Retired from Luke AFB as lieutenant colonel, August 1968. Real estate broker in Glendale and Phoenix since 1970. Celebrated golden wedding anniversary May 7, 1992 with wife Dorothy ("Little Chum"); three children, two grandsons.