The Bandido
"Star Light, Star Bright, Which Direction Will I Fly Tonight" (Chap 5 continued)
Pilots earned awards. Some ranked higher on the scale of cool, but one never really knew when he earned one. Flights flew to fight and survive, hoping all the training paid off. Now, the DFC ranks eighth on the “Order of Precedence of Decorations and Awards” scale, but fifth to pilots flying combat. Chico, flying Element Lead had the chance to fly Flight Lead for the first time after Dolph Overton aborted. With two others in tow, he proved the makings of a full-time leader. The mission number was 4920. It was Chico’s thirty-second sortie but only his second of the day, carrying two 1000-pound bombs with four-by-five-inch HVAR (high-velocity aircraft rockets):
On 4 August 1952, Captain (then First Lieutenant) Roland X. Solis distinguished himself by meritorious achievement while participating in armed combat against the enemy. Although briefed to fly number three (3) position in a flight of four (4) F-84 aircraft assigned to the 49th Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force, he took over the lead when the flight leader aborted and through expert navigational skill, led the flight to the target near Changden, Korea. This was his first experience as flight leader. Captain Solis displayed skillful pilot technique and a thorough understanding of air-to-ground combat tactics as he led his flight against enemy machine gun and mortar positions without endangering the lives of friendly ground troops positioned only two hundred (200) yards from the target. Captain Solis also protected one (1) of his wingmen and thus endangered his own life by completely destroying a quadruple fifty (50) caliber gun position that was firing at his wingman. The mosquito controller deemed the mission to be one hundred (100) percent effective with ninety (90) percent coverage. Captain Solis, through his aggressiveness and expert navigational skill, has brought great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
On August 17th, Chico obtained the reins of flight commander, and now had six pilots under his tutelage. The flight depended on him to carry them into battle and safely back after each mission. He was now responsible for not taking overly aggressive chances or putting pilots in situations where the likelihood was getting shot down.
Following decorations, there are also higher awards. During combat, many pilots earned the DFC but not the Silver Star. Being the third highest for valor meant fewer pilots earned it. September 9, Chico earned one on mission 4901 but wouldn’t receive the award till nine months later. On this sortie, the pilots carried two 1,000-pound bombs per fighter. It was his forty-seventh, about halfway through the tour:
Captain Roland X. Solis distinguished himself by gallantry in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations as pilot of an F-84 aircraft, 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force, on 9 September 1952. On that date, Captain Solis led a flight of F-84 aircraft which was part of a force briefed to attack a North Korean military academy near the MIG-15 air bases at Antung, Manchuria. As the flight neared the target, MIG’s [sic] swarmed up to intercept them. Captain Solis demonstrated outstanding airmanship in eluding the MIG’s [sic], skillfully performing evasive maneuvers which prevented any damage to his flight. Despite the vicious attacks by the MIG’s [sic], Captain Solis led his heavily laden flight to the target, where they dropped their bombs with remarkable accuracy. After hitting the target, Captain Solis’ flight remained to protect a downed pilot although greatly outnumbered by the faster MIG’s [sic], leaving only when ordered to do so by the Air Commander. Through his keen flying skill, outstanding leadership and devotion to duty, Captain Solis reflected great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Forces, and the United States Air Force.
The MiG was Russia’s premier fighter, and many American pilots felt the fire from its guns dicing it out. Some lived while others flamed. In combat, the F-86 was dogfight material. It beat the hell out of the MiG while the F-84 was designed to deliver Hell on Earth. And by the time of the armistice, the F-84 had bombed and burned North Korea backwards with a roughly seventy-five percent destruction of the North’s structures. The Silver Star Chico earned while dicing with MiGs would be his only encounter throughout the tour. They flew air-to-ground, not air-to-air; yet with payloads intact, they went head-to-head, proving four was better than sixteen: “We were right next to the Yalu. I was leading the third or fourth flight. We were going after a tank area, which consisted of several buildings. It was a base that was supposed to be a tank school or tank repair area. Two missions were going on at the same time: our mission for the tank school and about ten miles down the area, another mission from another wing with a colonel up at altitude. He was the director of both missions. As we were going in, turning the initial point, which was on the coast, my number Three says, ‘Hey Lead, check nine o’clock low.’ We could see MiGs taking off at Antung, the dust, and the airplanes. The F-86s were waiting for them at 40,000 feet; they were our cover.
Well, the MiGs didn’t go up to 40,000 feet. They stayed on the deck and were after us. They didn’t have to go to altitude. They hit us from below. The number four in the flight in front of us got shot down on the first pass. He was flying straight while they came up from below and shot him down. He bailed out. When the commander saw and heard all that was going on, he told everybody to jettison their bombs and get the hell out because we were no match for the MiGs, especially loaded with bombs. It just so happened I was almost to the target. I was there, and I told my flight, ‘Negative; don’t drop your bombs.’
It was the stupidest thing I ever said because everybody dropped their bombs and was gone. I had the MiGs to myself. We turned a couple of times with them. They could outrun us, but they couldn’t outturn us, so we did a couple reversals with them, so they wouldn’t shoot us down. We were over the target, so we went down, and we got the target. The colonel that was up there watching at altitude said there were four F-84s in the dive and sixteen MiGs right behind them going down. We got rid of our ordnance, destroyed the target, and turned with them a couple more times.
The pilot in the parachute was still coming down. I told the leader we were going to stay there and CAP (combat air patrol) him. He said, “No, you get the hell out of there because it’s too far for the helicopters to come up.” We were really up north! We got the hell out, lost them, and climbed up. We had to land at K-13 because we were out of gas. My number four flamed out on the runway; that’s how close it was. We refueled and went home.” - Roland X. Solis
When the flight arrived at K-2, it was time to wind down, hit the hooch, throw back some beers; relax. The mission was successful, everyone survived, and there was no equipment damage beyond normal battle scars. Well … Chico did not make the hooch. Remember the colonel, the one at altitude, directing two missions simultaneously? He arrived beforehand. Once “Ugly” was back, he called Lead into his office. With John Holt, the squadron commander present, Chico lost a few pounds. The colonel ripped him up one side and down the other for disobeying a direct order and putting the flight in an extremely dangerous situation. By defying command, the probability of losing the flight was high. Although Col. Orr, the Fighter Group Commander, must have been proud of Chico as he walked back rubbing the pain. By May 1953, everything caught up:
“I didn’t know it at the time, but when we got back to the States, they were going to have a parade. I was going to get a DFC. When the day arrived, I was about third in line, and they said they had gotten a Silver Star in lieu of the DFC. So, I went to the first in line. In retrospect, if I had lost a guy that day, I would have been court-martialed sure as shit. I was really lucky. If I had bent an airplane, lost one, or otherwise done anything, I would have been in deep shit.” - Roland X. Solis
Another good one!!