Thomas B. McGuire, Jr.

Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr.
World War II Ace
Thomas B. McGuire, Jr.
In a prominent place in the foyer of the Sebring High School, is a photograph of an Air
Force officer and below it is the following inscription:
The late Thomas B. McGuire, whose memory is preserved by the naming of
McGuire Air Force Base, was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on August 1,
1920. He graduated from Sebring High School in 1938 and attended the
Georgia School of Technology and entered the United States ArmyAir Corps
in 1941. In February1942, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and
was rated a pilot.
During World War II he was assigned to the Fifth Air Force, where he received
honors including the Purple Heart with one cluster, the Air Medal with nine
clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with five clusters, the Silver Star
with two clusters, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Congressional Medal
of Honor, all for gallantry in action against the Japanese.
His battle citations include the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with eight
battle stars, the American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal and the
VictoryMedal.
Major McGuire lost his life in the service of his country on January7, 1945,
while flying over Negros Island in the Philippines. It was for his extraordinary
gallantry and action beyond the call of duty on this final mission and for
shooting down seven Japanese aircraft in aerial combat over Luzon on
De cember 25 an d 26, 1944, th at he was po sth umo usly awarde d the
Congressional Medal of Honor. Major McGuire destroyed thirty eight enemy
aircraft in aerial combat and was one of the most skillful and courageous
airmen of World War II.
Reprinted from Bulletin Number Four.
Sebring Historical Society, January 1970. Pg. 107.
All photos are on file at the Sebring Historical Society Archives
with the exception of those bearing a photo source notation.
Tommie - 6mos old
with his mother, Polly
Tommie - childhood portraits
Tommie with his BB gun
Tommie with grandfather
Watson
Tommie learning to golf
Tommie and his canoe
Tommie - Lake Jackson in
background
The family at Highlands Hammock State Park
McGuire home at 10 Kenilworth Blvd
(no longer standing)
Garage with upstairs apartment
(see pg 31 in “The Last Great Ace”)
Kenilworth Lodge viewed from McGuire home
Sebring High School Band
Thomas McGuire in Georgia Tech band uniform
Tommie while home from college with
Jeff, the Boston Terrier, Dec. 1940.
Robert Higgins, Tommie’s mother (Polly) and
Tommie atGeorgia Tech, Summer 1941.
Georgia Tech - Beta Theta Pi (Tommie is back row 2nd from end on right)
Lt. and Mrs. Thomas B. McGuire, Jr.
Taken the day after their wedding,
Dec 5, 1942.
Taken at Randolph Field
basic training
Taken at Kelly Field graduation (USAAF Photo)
Pudgywas the Lockheed P-38 airplane named after McGuire’s wife
Above is Pudgy III with 21 victories
Pudgy IV with at least 22 victories
Maj. McGuire with Charles A. Lindbergh
See chapters 33-35 in “The Last Great Ace”
McGuire and Lindbergh at Biak Island
off New Guinea, c. July 1944.
McGuire in center (a similar photo is on pg 251 in “The Last Great Ace”)
Howard McDonald, Tommie McGuire, Bill Dutton, Jr and Junor Bates (in New Guinea)
All four are Sebring High School graduates serving in WWII in the Pacific theater.
Pudgy V with 25 victories
Another picture of Pudgy III with 21 victories
The burial of Maj. Thomas B. McGuire, Jr., May 17, 1950.
Arlington National Cemetery (Section 11, Grave 426)
AIR ACE’S BODY IS FOUND
Major T. B. McGuire of Ridgewood Killed in Philippine Fighting
WASHINGTON, June 16, 1949 – The Air Force announced today that it had recovered the
body of Major Thomas B. McGuire of Ridgewood, New Jersey, who had thirty-eight
Japanese planes to his credit when he was shot down in the Philippines over four years ago.
His body was among the war dead arriving at San Francisco on an Army transport. Burial
will be in Arlington National Cemetery.
He was listed as missing for four years after he disappeared during combat over the Negros
Islands. He was last seen going to the aid of a fellow flier who was outnumbered by enemy
planes. Early this year a graves registration team found his body, today’s announcement
said. Nearby was the wreckage of a P-38 identified as the plane he had been flying.
New Jersey’s only Air Force Base, McGuire Field at Fort Dix, was named after Major
McGuire.
The Air Force’s top-ranking ace was Major Richard Bong, who downed forty enemy planes.
He died in a crash after the war had ended.
MCGUIRE, PACIFIC ACE, BURIED IN ARLINGTON
WASHINGTON, May 17, 1950 – Major Thomas B. McGuire, Medal of Honor winner
during the war in the Pacific, was reburied with military honors in Arlington National
Cemetery today.
Seven BV-25 medium bombers flew over as the Fifth Air Force ace, a native of Ridgewood,
New Jersey, was laid to rest in the presence of his family and members of the New Jersey
Congressional delegation. General George C. Kenney, Major McGuire’s commander in the
South Pacific, was chief honorary pall bearer.
The P-38 fighter pilot was killed after he had shot down thirty eight Japanese planes in
action. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry over Luzon, Philippine Islands, on
Christmas Day, 1944. He was killed two weeks later in the same area attempting to aid a
comrade under fire by Japanese planes.
The services today were attended by his father, Thomas B. McGuire of Ridgewood, and his
widow, now Mrs. Marilyn Stankowski of San Antonio, Texas.
Gen. George C. Kenney -Award Ceremony- Congressional Medal of Honor
Patterson, NJ - May 8, 1946
Gen. George C. Kenney presenting Tommie’s Medal of Honor to Marilyn
Thomas B. McGuire, Sr (left) and Marilyn McGuire (center)
McGUlRE, THOMAS B., JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps, 13th Air Force. Place and date: Over
Luzon, Philippine Islands, 2526 December 1944. Entered service at: Sebring, Florida. Birth:
Ridgewood, New Jersey. G.O. No.: 24, 7 March 1946.
Citation:
He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity over Luzon, Philippine Islands.
Voluntarily, he led a squadron of 15 P-38’s as top cover for heavy bombers striking Mabalacar
Airdrome, where his formation was attacked by 20 aggressive Japanese fighters. In the
ensuing action he repeatedly flew to the aid of embattled comrades, driving off enemy
assaults while himself under attack and at times outnumbered 3 to 1, and even after his
guns jammed, continuing the fight by forcing a hostile plane into his wingman’s line of
fire. Before he started back to his base he had shot down 3 Zeros. The next day he again
volunteered to lead escort fighters on a mission to strongly defended Clark Field. During
the resultant engagement he again exposed himself to attacks so that he might rescue a
crippled bomber. In rapid succession he shot down 1 aircraft, parried the attack of 4 enemy
fighters, 1 of which he shot down, single-handedly engaged 3 more Japanese, destroying 1,
and then shot down still another, his 38th victory in aerial combat. On 7 January 1945,
while leading a voluntary fighter sweep over Negros Island, he risked an extremely hazardous
maneuver at low altitude in an attempt to save a fellow flyer from attack, crashed, and was
reported missing in action. With gallant initiative, deep and unselfish concern for the safety
of others, and heroic determination to destroy the enemy at all costs, Maj. McGuire set an
inspiring example in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.
Dedication of McGuire AFB - T.B. McGuire, Sr and Gen. George C. Kenney - Sept 17, 1949.
“Daddy Mac” admiring the portrait of Tommie. The portrait was a gift to
McGuire Sr. from Marilyn - June 1958.
McGuire Air Force Base
THOMAS BUCHANAN MCGUIRE, JR.
MAJOR, UNITED STATES ARMY AIR CORPS
Born on August 1, 1920 at Ridgewood, New Jersey, he grew up there and in Sebring,
Florida.
He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1941 and enlisted in the Army
Air Corps, completing his aviation training and received promotion to Captain early in
1942.
After service in the United States and Alaska he was ordered in March 1943 to the 49th
Fighter Group of the 5th United States Air Force, then operating in the Southwest Pacific
Area and in particular providing an early air screen for Darwin and Northern Australia.
Subsequently he was transferred to the 475th Fighter Group, 13th Air Force, where he won
promotion to Major.
He was already a leading ace with a record of 31 Japanese planes shot down when he
volunteered on December 5, 1944 to lead a squadron of P-38s on a bomber escort mission
over Mabalacar Airdrome on Luzon, Philippines. He shot down 3 of 20 Japanese Zero
fighters that attacked his squadron. The next day, on a similar mission over Clark Field,
near Manila, he exposed himself in order to draw fire away from a crippled bomber and
shot down 3 of the 4 fighters that were attacking it. Another score on his way home that day
brought his total to 38. On January 7, 1945, while leading a flight of four P-38s over
Negros Island, he attempted a highly-dangerous maneuver in order to aid a comrade who
was losing an encounter with a Japanese Zero and crashed.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in March 1946 for his actions on
December 25-26, 1944 and January 7, 1945. His score of 38 enemy kills made him the
second leading American fighter pilot of World War II, following Major Richard Bong.
McGuire Air Force Base in his home state of New Jersey was named in his honor.
He is buried in Section 11 of Arlington National Cemetery.
USAAF pilots Col. MacDonald and Al Nelson in the Pacific with MacDonald’s P-38J Lightning
aircraft “Putt Putt Maru”, 1944 (Photo source: ww2db.com)
Ground crew members of USAAF 459th Fighter Squadron working on a P-38 Lightning
aircraft, Jan 1945 (Photo source: ww2db.com)
Lt. Thomas McGuire bailing out of Capt. Nichols plane (not Pudgy II) at Oro Bay
(see pp 201-207 in “The Last Great Ace”)
Oil Painting - Major McGuire in Pudgy IV
Lockheed P-38 Lightning (Photo source: www.warbirddepot.com)
Lockheed P-38 Lightning (Photo source: p38assn.org)