George Savage
********
Frank Dutko
********
George Savage was born in Collinsville, Illinois on 2 May 1923.
(Also born on 2 May (but other years) were Kate Smith and Baron Manfred Von Richtofen.)
George was destined to be a great singer or a great pilot.
At the age of 16, his father, after hearing him sing, presented him with his own airplane,
an Aeronca C-3, commonly called a flying bathtub because it sat so close to the ground.
It had NO airspeed indicator, NO brakes, ONE wing, ONE engine, but TWO cylinders.
Thereafter, young George looked to the skies, and was forever running into things on the ground.
When WW II broke out young George, at the age of 18, on March 9, 1942, enlisted in the Army Air Corps
with the intention of becoming an aircraft mechanic and then entering Aviation Cadet training.
When the Army found out he could type, they made him a clerk.
He entered Aviation Cadet training forthwith and, at the tender age of 19,
completed training as a hot-shot fighter pilot and even hotter 2nd Lt..
Five days later he was a Basic Flight Instructor (UGH) and had five students!!!
He volunteered for combat duty every month (Even as an artillery spotter in L-5 aircraft).
His biggest fear was that the war would be over before he could get in it.
He finally got out after almost a year and ended up flying B-29s in the Pacific.
After his first combat mission he volunteered for assignment as a Basic Flight Instructor but to no avail.
He completed 30 combat missions, including the first low-level attack on Tokyo
from which he crash landed his battle damaged B-29 on Iwo Jima where fighting was still in progress,
and left B-29s scattered all over the Pacific. One more B-29 to his credit and he would have become a Jap ace.
After winning WW II he performed heroically flying C-54s on the Berlin Airlift.
Thence to B-36s at Carswell AFB for 8 ½ years. His only claim to fame during
that period was flying the “Effects” B-36 during several nuclear tests off Eniwetok in the Pacific.
Although his aircraft was declared unsafe to fly after he had flown it back to the states,
he suffered no ill effects but two of his sons glow in the dark.
However, all crew members did get the Air Medal for their efforts. He then went to Altus AFB as
Deputy Commander for Operations for a B-52 wing and, after a couple of years,
to Headquarters 2nd Air Force as Chief of Training. He then went for some personal training at
the Air War College where he graduated in the upper bottom of his class.
Then back to B-52s as Director of Operations for an Air Division at Blytheville AFB.
After 15 years in SAC he wangled a hardship tour to Paris, France as a nuclear “Bean-Counter” for USEUCOM.
He and the rest of USEUCOM got kicked out after about a year when George made a caustic comment
about DeGaulle’s mustache and George went to Travis AFB to fly C-141s back and forth
to Vietnam 2 or 3 times a month for two years. In 1968 he was assigned to Fort Fumble
on the Potomac and in 1974, after about 10,000 flying hours, lots of medals, decorations,
and “atta boys”, he gave it all up and retired to Ft. Worth, Texas.
The very best thing that happened to George during all this time was that he met and married Betty.
She was not only good looking, she was rich!! And she adored George,.
So much so that they ended up with five kids.
At the present time (2005) it should be noted that their off spring have kept up the good work
and the Savages have 15 grandkids and two great-grandkids.
Betty and George have only one regret, that they can’t do it all over again.
Rank: Lt. Col.
State: NJ
Unit: 141st FBS, 108th FBW, NJANG 1949-1953
Biography: Lt. Col. Dutko was born 28 February 1923 in Trenton, NJ.
He attended Columbus Elementary, Junior High No. I and Trenton High School,
graduating in 1941 as the Outstanding Commercial Student.
He later attended Pensacola (FL) Junior College and was awarded an
Associate of Arts Degree in 1982. His military education includes Squadron Officers Course, 1957.
Col. Dutko's military career began 30 March 1942 when he was selected for the U. S. Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program.
After Preflight at San Antonio (TX) Aviation Cadet Center, Primary at Spartan AAFTD, Muskogee, OK, Basic at Enid AAF, OK,
and Single Engine Advanced at Aloe AAF, Victoria, TX, he was awarded pilot's wings and commissioned as a
2d Lt., ORC, USAAC. After completion of BT-1 3 Instructors' Course, he was assigned to Strother AAF, Winfield, KS where
he instructed until 1944. He was selected for a fighter pilot assignment and was assigned to the 32d FS, XXVI Fighter
Command, Panama Canal Zone in 1945 where he flew P-39s and P-38s. He was discharged in March 1946 at Ft. Monmouth, NJ
and returned to civilian pursuits. After serving with the 157th Composite Squadron, USAF Reserve until 1949, he was part
of the initial cadre of pilots assigned to the 141 st FBS, NJANG, McGuire AFB, NJ. He flew with this organization until
February 1951 when the unit was recalled to active duty. His assignments included: Chief, Liaison Supply, 108th FBW,
Turner AFB, GA (1951); Supply Officer, 149th FIBS, Godman AAF, Ft. Knox, KY (1952); Supply Off icer, 52d Air Rescue
Squadron, Harmon AB, Newfoundland, (1952-1953); MPO, Base Supply, Greenville AFB, MS (1953-1955); Chief, Aircraft
Supply Division, Directorate of Materiel, Hq. FTAF, Waco, TX and Hq. ATC, Randolph AFB, TX (1955-1958); Chief,
Contractor Support Division, Hq. SAMAP, Clark AB, Philippines (1958-1959); Production Officer, Procurement Directorate,
Hq. NAMAP, Tachikawa AB, Japan (1960-1961); Joint Staff Assignment, Hq. Army Tank Automotive Command, Detroit, M1
as a Logistics and Procurement Officer, (1961-1967).
In 1967 he was assigned to the 361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, Nha Trang AFB, RVIN until June 1968.
He flew 123 electronic reconnaissance missions in EC-47s, amassing over 760 flying hours. He was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and six Air Medals for his efforts. Upon his return to the ZI in 1968, he was assigned
to Hq. AFLC Inspector General, first as Chief, Administrative Investigation Division, and later as a Base Procurement
Inspector until his retirement in June 1972. He was rated a Command Pilot in 1958 and achieved over 5,800 flying hours.
His military decorations include: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster,
Presidential Unit Citation, Outstanding Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal,
National Defense Services Medal, Viet Nam Service Medal, AF Longevity Ribbon, Air Force Reserve Medal,
Small Arms Expert Medal, and Republic of Viet Nam Campaign Medal.
After retirement in 1972, Col. Dutko founded the Pilot Class 43-D Association, a fraternity of graduates of Pilot Class 43D.
9,896 cadets began training in August 1942, 5,275 graduated in April, 1943 from 29 flying schools located throughout the
U. S. Notable graduates include: Donald "Deke" Slayton, Astronaut, Jack Palance and William Conrad, movie stars, and
B/G Wiltz P. "Flash" Segura, Fighter Pilot Ace. Three members earned Medals of Honor: Edward S. Michael and William R. Lawley
in WWII and Joe Jackson in the Viet Nam War.
After serving as a Contracting Officer at DCSC, Columbus, OH (1972-1974), Procurement Analyst at the 2750th ABW and
Hq. AFLC, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (1974-1979), he 'retired' again. He moved to Florida where he and his wife, Phyllis, reside.
A daughter (Roxie), granddaughter (Paige), and son-in-law Dr. John C. Zaluski reside close by. A son Francis J., Jr. PHD,
wife Angela, sons Brian and Chris, and daughter Rachel reside near Philadelphia, PA.
