Dates

• Existence: 1917 - 1999

Biography

Louis W. “Bill” Chick, Jr. was born on March 31, 1917 in Dallas, Texas. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1937 and attended flying school at Randolph Field in Texas. During World War II, he served with a number of squadrons and groups, including the 24th Fighter Squadron, the 4th Fighter Group, the 355th Fighter Group, and the 317th Fighter Squadron. Chick’s postwar career included flying the Air Force’s first jet aircraft, the Bell P-59 Airacomet; commanding the first Republic F-84 Thunderjet group; and serving as chief of the USAF mission to Bolivia in the early 1950s. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1958. In his civilian life, he worked as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company, then retired to take over his family’s ranch in Texas. Chick passed away in 1999.

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