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Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920-1973

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Met the author at the annual American Fighter Aces convention. He is still researching and gathering info from the few remaining aces themselves. The aces have a great respect for the author,and the work it took to compile the info. Wonderful resource to some outstanding pilots.

Air combat enthusiasts and military aviation historians owe a debt of gratitude to Frank Olynyk, whose single-minded pursuit of information on American victory claims and American fighter aces have produced a series of priceless Victory Credits books and STARS AND BARS, A TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAN FIGHTER ACES 1920-1973, his magnum opus. Published in 1995 by England's Grubb Street (Publishing), STARS AND BARS is THE definitive guide to America's fighter aces.

STARS AND BARS is a door-stopper of a book, topping off at 668 pages. Olynyk begins with a short history of the American fighter ace. An 'American ace' is defined as anyone serving in an American military unit who downs five enemy aircraft, regardless of that person's citizenship, or any American citizen who, while serving in a foreign air force, becomes an ace.

After brief chapters on fighter ops and 'tools of the trade' (i.e. fighter aircraft), Olynyk provides details on the victory credits awarded to Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy groups and squadrons. The section on the 1st Fighter Group, for example, lists confirmed destroyed/probable/damaged credits; assigned aircraft; a fact-filled summary of the Group's history in WWI and WWII; etc. This is followed by summaries of the Group's assigned squadrons: the 27th FS, 71st FS and 94th FS giving Squadron COs; victory credits; aircraft flown; and unit aces. The section on VF-16 details the squadron's two combat tours. The description of each tour includes the unit's assigned Carrier Air Group; victory credits; aircraft flown; a short unit history paragraph; and aces 'crowned' during that tour.

The meat of the book is the 544-page Biographical List of aces. This section begins with USAF Ace Robert Wilson Abernathy and ends Air Force Ace Charles Joseph Zubarik. Each Ace summary includes hometown and birth/death dates; (final) rank; assigned unit; service number; awards; victory listings; a short summary of their military career and miscellaneous data. Length of entries can vary from a quarter-page to a page or more. The section on Dick Bong, for instance, runs to a page-and-a half. Olynyk also includes pilots who have been mistakenly listed as aces in the past, noting the claims made by those pilots, mistakes made in documenting those claims as revealed by Olynyk's research, etc.

Appendices include listings of pilots who claimed four or more victories, pilots claiming three or more kills since the Korean War and an extensive bibliography. Two 16-page photo inserts illustrate some of the aces covered in STARS AND BARS.

In summary, superlatives comes easy when describing Olynyk's book. STARS AND BARS is a tremendous piece of research and a great tribute to 'the best of the best.' Highly recommended.

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