Frederick R. "Fritz" Payne, a World War II fighter ace who left his mark on aviation and wartime history by shooting down six Japanese warplanes during the Battle of Guadalcanal, a bloody, months-long confrontation that helped change the course of the war, has died at age 104.
The retired Marine Corps brigadier general, who was believed to be the oldest surviving U.S. fighter ace, died on Aug. 6 at his home in Rancho Mirage.
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What Payne did between September and October 1942 was take to the skies in an F4F Wildcat and shoot down four Japanese bombers and two fighter planes during a crucial, months-long battle for control of the Pacific that Allied forces had launched with no clear indication they could win.
"Fritz came along at a time when we were essentially losing the war," said Bell, adding Payne and others who "stood their ground at Guadalcanal" kept the Japanese from gaining control of the Pacific Ocean from the east coast of Australia to the western United States. The battle marked a turning point in the war's Pacific theater.
Payne, meanwhile, would be honored with the Navy Cross, silver star, Distinguished Flying Cross and other medals during a long military career.
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He attended the U.S. Naval Academy for two years before completing his college education at the University of Arizona in 1935. Upon graduation he had hoped to join the Navy's cadet program but learned it was full.
"My father said, 'You're a college graduate, go to the recruiting office and tell them you'd like to join the Marine Corps,'" he told the Palm Springs Desert Sun in 2010.
So he did and the Marines made him a second lieutenant. When he retired in 1958 he was a brigadier general.
It would shock me if there is another ace still alive who flew the F4F Wildcat and graduated from the University of Arizona.
