Captain John F. Hampshire, Jr.

WWII US Army Air Corps Captain, 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force: posthumous

Airplanes always fascinated John Hampshire. His passion for flying led him to seek a pilot's license, despite not having the money to do so. To fund his flying lessons, Hampshire hoisted his huge oak desk out his upstairs bedroom window and sold it! Soon after earning his private pilot's license, Hampshire enlisted in the Army Air Corps. After graduating from flight school, he found himself assigned to the 14th Air Force, under the command of General Clair Chennault, flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters in China.

Assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, Hampshire first engaged in combat on October 25th, 1942 over Hong Kong and destroyed two Japanese aircraft while escorting B-25 Mitchell bombers. Hampshire flew aggressively and quickly amassed an impressive record of aerial victories. On April 24, 1943, Hampshire attacked and destroyed a Japanese aircraft that had dropped leaflets touting the superiority of Japanese aerial forces over the city of Lingling. Hampshire wrote to his father, "The pilot that dropped them ran into a little hard luck on the way home."

On May 2, 1943, after shooting down a japanese fighter, Hampshire's P-40 plunged into the Siang River. That night the Chinese set off 100,000 firecrackers to honor Hampshire, who with 17 aerial victories was the highest scoring US ace in China at the time. Hampshire received several decorations posthumously, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster and Purple Heard. Grants Pass, Oregon honors his memory with John Hampshire Field and by burning an eternal flame for Captain John F. Hampshire, Jr. - the local boy who gave his life to his country.

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