On this day in history, May 28, 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Clay Kinnard led a flight of inexperienced P-51 Mustang pilots on a mission to escort B-17 bombers to their target.
Kinnard was more than a commander—he was a leader who cared deeply for the men he took into combat. Like a mother hen watching over her chicks, he kept a vigilant eye on his green pilots.
But that day, mechanical trouble forced Kinnard to abort the mission. As he turned back, he radioed a final instruction to his young pilots, “Stick together. Don’t scatter.”
As the P-51s neared the bomber formation, the Luftwaffe sensed weakness—and struck. Deprived of their leader, the young American pilots broke formation. The German Me-109s moved in for the kill.
Two of Kinnard’s boys didn’t return.
When he heard the news, Kinnard—usually composed—was heard shouting:
“Damn, damn, damn! If I’d been there, it might have been different!”
U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Clay Kinnard 354th Group Lead, P-51B Mustang.
Lieutenant Colonel Clay Kinnard, 354th Fighter Group Lead, was a decorated ace with 8 enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat. His valor earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Croix de Guerre, and the Distinguished Unit Citation.
But on that day, none of it mattered more to him than the two names missing from the next mission briefing.
Crock’s Thoughts 