Edwin A. Doss

Edwin Allen Doss was born in Rector, Arkansas. He later moved to Missouri where he graduated from Portageville High School in 1932. He spent the next two years in the Civilian Conservation Corps before attending Lead Belt Junior College in Desloge, Missouri.Holmes 26 He graduated in 1936.Holmes 26

File:Aviation Cadet Edwin A. Doss.jpgAfter being commissioned as a second lieutenant on December 20, 1940, Doss's first military assignment was to the 41st squadron of the 31st Operations Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan.Holmes 26 There, he flew Seversky P-35 aircraft.Holmes 26 In April 1941, he was appointed squadron operations officer.Holmes 26[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10238 Air Force Historical Research Agency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214431/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10238 |date=2016-03-03 }}

On April 9, 1941, Doss's P-35 crashed due to mechanical failure in Selfridge Field. The plane was severely damaged.[http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Apr1941.htm Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research:March 1941 USAAF Accident Reports]

File:Lt Col Edwin A. Doss.jpgIn January 1942, Doss and his squadron were deployed to Port Moresby, New Guinea in the South West Pacific Theatre.Holmes, 26 In June of that year, he was appointed commander of the 41st Pursuit Squadron, and by 1943, he was a major in the United States Army Air Corps.Holmes 26

In August 1943, Doss became commander of the 35th Fighter Group,[http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9683 Air Force Historical Research Agency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604223523/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=9683 |date=2016-06-04 }} and in November, Doss was promoted to lieutenant colonel.Holmes 26

In 1944, under Doss's command the 35th Fighter Group set a record for the longest fighter mission in the South West Pacific Theater.Wistrand After, the 35th Fighter Group continued into the Philippines. Under Doss's leadership, the group held a combat score of 397 victories and was the first fighter squadron to reach the Japanese mainland.Wistrand

After leading the 35th Fighter Group through the South West Pacific Theater from Lae, New Guinea to Okinawa, Japan, Doss was promoted to colonel in 1945.Holmes 26

Doss's leadership as commander has been commended as integral to the advancement of long-range fighter tactics in the South West Pacific Theater.Pilots of the Fifth Air Force 16 His strategic leadership received mention in a booklet that was published by World War II combat pilots of the South West Pacific.Pilots of the Fifth Air Force 16

File:Colonel Edwin A. Doss on Plane.JPG File:Col. Doss.JPGIn March 1953, Doss was appointed as Commander of the 49th Fighter Wing at Kunsan, South Korea, where he flew a F-84G.Holmes 27 As a combat commander, he led the 49th Fighter Bomber Wing and then the 3rd Bombardment Wing, both at Kunsan, through the end of the Korean War. He returned to the United States in April 1954.Futrell AppendixHolmes 27

File:Col. E. A. Doss.JPGAfter returning to the United States, Doss was appointed as senior Air Force advisor to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.Holmes 27 His next assignment was as vice commander of the 85th Air Defense Division at Andrews Air Force Base. He then served as deputy commander of the Washington Air Defense Sector at Fort Lee, Virginia until 1960, when he was appointed commander of the Bangor Air Defense Sector.Holmes 27 While serving as commander of the Bangor Air Defense Sector, he held the position of commander of the Bangor North American Air Defense Sector.Holmes 27

In 1963, Doss was appointed deputy inspector general and inspector general of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) headquarters.Holmes 27 He served as head of the command liaison agency to the government of France at Paris from 1964 until 1966, and then deputy commander of the 25th Air Division at McChord Air Force Base until he retired from the Air Force in 1968.

File:Edwin A. Doss 1944.jpg

File:General Orders No. 37 Oct. 25, 1954 0001.jpg

File:General Orders No. 37 Oct. 25, 1954 0002.jpg

File:Col. E.A. Doss Legion of Merit October 25, 1954.jpg

• 1932 Graduate, Portageville High School
• 1936 Graduate, Lead Belt Junior College
• 1938 Student, University of Southern California
• 1940 United States Army Air Corps Flying School
• 1945 Command and General Staff School
• 1947 Basic Military Management
• 1948 Air Command and Staff School
• 1954 Graduate, University of Maryland
• 1958 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

• Rating: Command Pilot
• Flight hours: More than 4,500
• Aircraft flown: P-47, P-51, and F-84G

File:Edwin A. Doss Legion of Merit Citation.jpg

File:Colonel Edwin A. Doss CCC Sergeant Stripes.jpg

File:E.A. Doss Retirement.jpg

File:E.A. Doss Cert of Retirement.jpg

{{Reflist}}

• Pilots of the Fifth Air Force. “Fighter Combat Tactics in the Southwest Pacific Area.” Merriam Press, Vermont: 2007. {{ISBN|1-57638-017-3}}. 83 pages.
• Holmes, Tony, Ed.. “'Twelve to One' V Fighter Command Aces of the Pacific War”. Oxford, Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|1-84176-784-0}}. 129 pages.
• Wistrand, R. B. Pacific Sweep: A Pictorial History of the Fifth Air Force Fighter Command. F.H. Johnson, 1945. ASIN: B000ZUS7DW.
• Futrell, Robert F. “The United States Air Force in Korea 1950-1953.” Government Printing Office: 2007. {{ISBN|0-16-048879-6}}.

{{USGovernment}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doss, Edwin A}}

Category:1914 births

Category:1996 deaths

Category:People from Rector, Arkansas

Category:Civilian Conservation Corps people

Category:University of Southern California alumni

Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II

Category:Recipients of the Air Medal

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)

Category:United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Category:Air Command and Staff College alumni

Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War

Category:University System of Maryland alumni

Category:National War College alumni

Category:United States Air Force colonels

Category:Burials at Riverside National Cemetery