Dolphin Dunnaha Overton III (2 April 1926 – 25 March 2013) was a United States Air Force aviator who became a flying ace during the Korean War. Overton's controversial tour in Korea led to his being removed from combat and denied his medals and victory credits, but he was subsequently reinstated with these.
Born in Andrews, South Carolina, Overton took an early interest in flying, and attended The Citadel for a year before enlisting in the United States Navy briefly during World War II. Afterward, Overton graduated from West Point and began a career flying the F-84 Thunderjet. In 1952, Overton volunteered to fly in the Korean War and flew 102 missions in an F-84 before transferring to the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and flying the F-86 Sabre. During a four-day time period in early 1953, Overton claimed five MiG-15 victories in MiG alley, certifying him as a flying ace. However, he was subsequently returned to the United States in shame after commanders charged him with insubordination for crossing the Yalu River into Manchuria for his victories.
Subsequent research and debate has pointed to Overton as a scapegoat for an informal policy of US pilots regularly violating the Yalu River border into China, and that the US military discredited Overton as a way to prevent an international incident. Overton was finally given the medals he had earned in the war—including a Distinguished Service Cross and four Silver Stars—in 2009.
Early life
Dolphin D. Overton was born on 2 April 1926 in Andrews, South Carolina. He was interested in flying from an early age, and as a boy he flew with his father. He became an avid reader of stories from World War I flying aces. At age 16, Overton was flying solo in a Piper J-3 Cub.
Overton graduated from high school and began college at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina in 1943, at the age of 16, but one year later he dropped out in an attempt to enlist in the United States Navy. Overton attempted to become a naval aviator in 1945 but there was little demand for additional aviators at the time, as the war was nearing its end.
After being discharged from the Navy, Overton earned an appointment to the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1949 and being commissioned as a second lieutenant. Overton became one of 92 graduates to join the newly formed United States Air Force. In 1950, Overton earned his aviator wings after a year of training at Williams Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona, alongside Ivan Kincheloe, who would later also become a flying ace in Korea.
Air Force career
Overton's first assignment was with the 31st Fighter Group at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia, commanded by David C. Schilling, and flying the F-84 Thunderjet, a fighter-bomber. Shortly after the beginning of this assignment, Overton nearly died in a training incident. On his third flight in the F-84, as he tried to set a record for completing an obstacle course in the shortest time, he was involved in a major crash. The crash threatened to end his career, but Schilling, determined to prevent Overton from being discharged, gave him extra assignments to keep him in the military.
Overton flew F-84s with the 31st Fighter Group. He was a part of the first major trans-Atlantic deployment of F-84s to the United Kingdom in late 1950. He volunteered for deployment to South Korea to serve in the Korean War in 1951.
First Korean War tour
In February 1952, Overton joined the 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing. As many of the other pilots deploying with Overton were from the Air National Guard, Overton was the most experienced jet aircraft pilot among them. Because of this, he was made a flight leader and the assistant Operations Officer of the squadron. The unit flew out of Taegu (K-2) and its missions consisted primarily of close air support and interdiction missions in support of United Nations ground forces. In this time, Overton also took assignments as a forward air controller and directed air support missions to troops on the front lines. Overton spent some of this time on the to assist US Navy pilots with their own close air support doctrine.
On 15 June 1952, Overton led a bombing raid over Pyongyang to destroy a series of targets near the Pyongyang Air Base. The targets had been unsuccessfully bombed earlier by a similar strike force, but Overton's group was successful in destroying almost all of the targets while none of his aircraft took major damage from the 48 antiaircraft and 100 automatic weapons, and without harming the many nearby UN prisoner of war concentrations.