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Col. Dean E. Hess
Dean Elmer Hess (December 6, 1917 - March 2, 2015) was an American minister and U.S. Air Force colonel who was involved in the so-called “Kiddy Car Airlift,” the documented rescue of 950 orphans an...view moreDean Elmer Hess (December 6, 1917 - March 2, 2015) was an American minister and U.S. Air Force colonel who was involved in the so-called “Kiddy Car Airlift,” the documented rescue of 950 orphans and 80 orphanage staff from the path of the Chinese advance during the Korean War on December 20, 1950.
He was born in Marietta, Ohio and attended Marietta College, Ohio, graduating in the class of 1941. He was ordained as a church minister in Cleveland, Ohio. Following the December 7, 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces, served as a combat pilot in France after the Normandy landings, and flew a total of 63 combat missions in P-47s.
He was recalled to active service in July 1948 and stationed in Japan. In June 1950 he was transferred to Korea at the outbreak of the Korean War as the commander of Bout One Project, the program under which a cadre of USAF instructor pilots trained South Korean pilots in flying the P-51D Mustang. Hess flew 250 combat missions and became involved in charity organizations for orphaned children in the war zone.
He was married to Mary C. Lorentz (1941 - 1996) and had 4 children, Marilyn, Lawrence, Edward Alan, Ronald.
Hess published his autobiography in 1956 and used the royalties to fund a new orphanage in Seoul. He retired from the air force in 1969. For his actions in Korea, he was awarded the Republic of Korea Honor, and the Korean Order of Cultural Merit. He has received numerous other awards, including the Order of the White Elephant, a Presidential Citation, the Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Air Medal with 19 Clusters, and the Ohio Governor’s Award. He was inducted into the Miami Valley Walk of Fame, and his actions are also the subject of an exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
He died in 2015, aged 97.view less