Charles Rankin Bond, Jr. (April 22, 1915 – August 18, 2009) was an American pilot and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

officer. He served with the

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

in Burma and China during World War II. He was shot down twice and was credited with shooting down 9.5 Japanese airplanes. He later served in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

as an aide and personal pilot to W. Averell Harriman. He rose to the rank of Major General and, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, he was the deputy commanding officer of the

2d Air Division The 2nd Air Division (2nd AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Third Air Force, being stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It started operations on 7 N ...

in Vietnam and the

13th Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stat ...

in the Philippines. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1968 as commander of the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

. In 1984, Bond's diary of his service with the Flying Tigers was published and became a bestseller.

Early years

Bond was born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, on April 22, 1915, the son of Charles R. Bond, Sr., and Magnolia Turner Bond. His father operated a small business painting and hanging wallpaper. Bond was an honor student in high school and a participant in the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

.Bond and Anderson, p. 13 He joined the

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest econ ...

while in high school. His family could not afford to send him to college. In 1935, he enlisted in the United States Army and enrolled in a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

preparatory program hoping to be selected to attend the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. After failing to secure an appointment to the Military Academy, he returned home and worked for his father in the painting business. In 1938, Bond learned of a program through which high school graduates could take an examination in lieu of college for acceptance as a pilot in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. He passed the exam and reported to

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

for pilot training.Bond and Anderson, p. 14 He received his commission as a pilot in January 1939. In February 1939, he was assigned to the Second Bomb Group at Langley, Virginia, where he served under

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air ...

. In March 1941, he was assigned to the newly formed U.S. Army Air Corps Ferrying Command in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

World War II

Upon learning in June 1941 about the formation of the

American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, pop ...

under the command of

Claire Chennault Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Air Force in World War II. Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fighter ...

, Bond immediately volunteered and departed in September 1941 to serve in the Pacific. After stops in Hawaii, Java, and Singapore, he arrived in Burma on November 12, 1941. The unit, based in Burma and China, was tasked with protecting supply routes between China and Burma and with supplying Chinese forces fighting the Japanese. The group was credited with shooting down 299 Japanese aircraft. It became known as the "Flying Tigers". After seeing a picture of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

plane in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, the group painted a shark mouth on the nose of their planes. Bond was the first to paint his

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

. Bond was credited with shooting down nine and a half Japanese aircraft, including three during a single 1942 mission. Bond was also shot down twice during his Flying Tigers service: in May 1942, he was shot down over Paoshan, China, and he parachuted into a cemetery after his plane and clothing caught fire. He was hospitalized, but returned to combat and was shot down again in June 1942; he suffered head injuries but returned to combat within a week. The Flying Tigers received $500 for each Japanese plane they shot down, and Bond used the money to help his parents buy a house. He was awarded China's

Order of the Cloud and Banner The Order of the Cloud and Banner () also known as the Order of the Resplendent Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. The insig ...

, fifth grade, and Seven Star Wing Medal for his service in the Flying Tigers. Bond returned to the United States in 1942 and was honored by the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the most outstanding young men in Texas. In October 1942, he rejoined the Army Air Corps. During the latter part of the war, Bond served as an aide and the personal pilot for W. Averell Harriman, the American ambassador to the

during the war. In that position, Bond met Soviet Premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

and many Russian officials. Bond was forced to make an emergency landing at

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

after the famous battle for that city.

Post-war military service

In 1949, Bond received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in management engineering from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He worked briefly worked as a commercial pilot, but rejoined the Army Air Forces after a few months of civilian work. In the post-war years, Bond had assignments with the

Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field condition ...

and as chief of the Air Division of the U.S. Military Mission in Moscow. In 1957, Brigadier General Bond assumed command of the 25th Air Division (Defense) with headquarters at

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord Field is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the field's primary mission being world ...

. In 1959, Brigadier General Bond assumed command of the 28th Air Division (Defense) with headquarters at

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

During the Vietnam War, he served as deputy commanding officer of the 2nd Air Division in Vietnam and the 13th Air Force in the Philippines. In 1967 and 1968 he was commander of the Twelfth Air Force in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. In January 1968, President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

presented a Minuteman flag to Bond in ceremonies at

Bergstrom Air Force Base Bergstrom Air Force Base (1942–1993) was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years it was a major base for the U.S. Air Force's RF-4C reconnaissance fighter fleet. History Bergstrom was originally activated on 1 ...

in Texas. Bond accepted the flag on behalf of the entire Twelfth Air Force. In addition to the Chinese decorations, Bond was awarded the

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (AFDSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with one oak leaf cluster, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and several other service and campaign medals during his military career.

Later years

After retiring from the military in 1968, Bond worked as a consultant for

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...

for ten years. He also worked for a skylight manufacturing company before retiring in 1983. In 1984, Bond co-authored ''A Flying Tiger's Diary'' with Terry H. Anderson, a historian at

. The bestselling book was based on a diary in which Bond made entries at the end of each day in 1941 and 1942 while serving with the Flying Tigers.Bond and Anderson, ''A Flying Tiger's Diary'', p. xii Bond died at an assisted-living facility in

from the effects of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Charles 1915 births 2009 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from Texas Flying Tigers pilots Military personnel from Dallas Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Republic of China Air Force personnel Texas A&M University alumni United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Commercial aviators Deaths from dementia in Texas