Wynn D Miller

Capt Wynn D. Miller was number 2 to take off the Carrier Ranger, which was making the first wartime P-40 deliveries into Africa, on May 19, 1942.  The P-40s hop scotched their way across Africa to India.  Miller was the engineering officer, which meant he served as "tail end Charlie", followint the other P-40s and patching them up as they had problems.  Miller's picture is in "Flight to Everywhere" and the Saturday Evening Post dated March 4, 1944.  He was nominated for a Silver Star on  a mission with Col Homer L. Sanders and Maj David W. Wallace to attack a heavily defended Jap air base in Burma.  He was shot down in Burma in a P-40, and with the help of natives, it took him 30 days to get back to base, arriving on Christmas Day in 1943.  As a Lt. Col. he was the commander of the first all jet fighter squadron in the USAF from June 1944 to October 1945, the 445th Fighter Squadron, which flew the F-80.  After the war, he returned to San Antonio and went into the oil business in Texas and was very successful.  For many years he was the honorary starter for the Texas Open Golf Tournament in San Antonio.