Fred Ohr obit

 

Ohr, Fred F., 1919-2015

He was not on the list.

Fred F. Ohr was a Korean American fighter ace who served during World War II.

Ohr was born on July 15, 1919 in Oregon. He enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1938 and started flight training in November 1941. During World War II, Ohr served as a pilot flying Supermarine Spitfires and North American P-51 Mustangs in the European and North African theaters. Ohr flew over 100, possibly over 200 (sources vary) combat missions and earned six confirmed aerial victories and 17 destroyed on the ground. He also served as the commanding officer with the 2nd Fighter Squadron until he left the military in 1945 at the rank of Major.

Post-war, Ohr attended the University of California at Berkeley and Northwestern University, graduating with a DDS degree. He became a dentist in Chicago, Illinois. Ohr married Esther A. (Kang) Ohr (1923-2005) in 1946 and the couple had three children. Fred F. Ohr died on September 6, 2015.

Ohr was born on July 15, 1919, in Oregon to Korean immigrants Wanda and Wan Ju, and grew up on a farm in the Boise, Idaho, basin. Out of high school he joined the military in 1938 but was not on the path to becoming a pilot until inadvertently participating in a pilot examination in 1940.

In fall 1942 he deployed with the 68th Material Service Squadron to Britain. He served as a ground crew member in Tunisia, seeing action as his airbase was overrun. Afterwards, Ohr flew until November 1944 with the 2nd Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, ending his tour as the squadron's commanding officer. He received numerous decorations including the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with 18 Oak Leaf Clusters. He received a citation for his escort action during Operation Tidal Wave in 1943, when he and his unit intercepted three enemy fighters preparing to attack Allied bombers over a target area. He shot down one aircraft during the mission.

After the war, Ohr became a dental surgeon in Chicago. He practiced dentistry until his retirement in 2005.