Colonel Robert MacDonald Fry

Colonel Robert MacDonald Fry

“He was the best pilot of them all, deadly in dive-bombing and as honest as the day was long”.  This is how Captain Franklin Luckman once described Colonel Robert Fry, a fellow member of the 365th Fighter Group, 388th Squadron, otherwise known as the “Hell Hawks”.

 

Robert MacDonald Fry was born in Erie on July 3, 1921. During his youth, he enjoyed sailing the waters of Lake Erie. Upon graduation from Strong Vincent High School in 1939, Fry headed to Annapolis as a midshipman.

 

After Pearl Harbor, Fry was offered pilot training. He left Annapolis in 1943 during his junior year and accepted an immediate commission and assignment to flying school. Fry opted for the Army Air Forces and earned his wings in mid-1943 just in time to join the 365th in Richmond. Fry rose to command the 388th Squadron and finished the war as the Hell Hawks top ace flying the P-47 Thunderbolt and credited with 7 victories (the Air Force reduced the official number to 4 after the war) earning many decorations and honors including: the Distinguished Service Cross ad Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star, the Soldier’s Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal with 5 silver oak leaf clusters, the blue ribbon, the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Belgian Croix de Guerra. He flew everything from F-89s, T33s, C-119s, and B-57s. He retired in 1969 as a full Colonel.

 

Col. Fry married Betty Lou Shafer of Erie on April 5, 1945 while home on leave. Together they had 2 sons, Charles, a Colorado State Trooper killed in the line of duty on September 26, 1987 and David, a retired US Marine Lieutenant Colonel who now resides in Arizona. Betty Lou passed away in 1970 and Col. Fry later married Patricia Nan Weber. They resided in Annapolis where Col. Fry once again enjoyed his love for sailing. He continued to sail until his death on May 7, 1985. Col. Fry’s ashes were scattered on the Chesapeake Bay.