Dates

• Existence: December 8 1915 - 1983

Biographical Note: David H. Sutherland

David H. Sutherland was a B-29 pilot for the U.S. Army during World War II.

Sutherland was born December 8 1915 in Walla Walla, Washington to Louis C. and Lula H. Sutherland, the eldest of four sons (George L., John R., and Louis C.). He studied at Whitman College and earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Work in 1941.

Sutherland enlisted in the army on March 20, 1942 and volunteered with the Red Cross until he was called to active duty in June of that year. He trained in various locations in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California. During the war he was 1st pilot and airplane commander of a B-29 bomber. He flew 12 combat missions over Japan and 177 combat hours with the 20th Air Force based in the Marianas Islands. He also served as a flight instructor at various army training bases in the U.S. and was an Air Corps supervisor at cadet flying training school. He flew approximately 1800 hours in military aircraft. He separated from the military on January 20, 1946.

After the war Sutherland started an import-export firm, David H. Sutherland & Co., in Portland, Oregon in 1951. He was a member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International, the Japan-America Society, and the Northwest Antique Airplane Club.

He was married to Beth Sutherland and they had two sons and two daughters. Sutherland died in 1983 and is buried in Portland, Oregon.

Biographical note derived from collection materials, donor information, and records on Ancestry.com.

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