More detail on this person: Warner Britton was
born on April 1, 1925, in Liberal, Kansas. He
enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on March 1,
1943, and entered the Aviation Cadet Program on
April 27, 1943. Britton was commissioned a 2d Lt
and awarded his pilot wings on June 27, 1944, and
was trained as an OA-10 Catalina pilot. He flew 81
combat missions in the Southwest Pacific area with
the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron between
October 1944 and August 1945. Lt Britton left
active duty and joined the Air Force Reserve
flying C-47 Dakota transports from January 2, 1946
to March 7, 1950. After returning to active duty,
Capt Britton served with the 28th Strategic
Reconnaissance Wing at Rapid City AFB (renamed
Ellsworth AFB in June 1953), South Dakota, until
August 1953, when he began Helicopter pilot
training. Britton then served with the 66th Air
Rescue Squadron in England for two months before
being assigned to the 81st and then the 83rd Air
Rescue Squadron, flying the SH-19 in West
Germany, where he served from January 1954 to
November 1956. He then attended H-21 helicopter
training and was assigned to Bolling AFB,
Washington D.C., until April 1958. Britton then
transferred to the 46th Air Rescue Squadron at
Otis AFB, Massachusetts, where he served from
April 1958 to October 1959. He served with the
55th Air Rescue Squadron at Thule AB, Greenland,
from October 1959 to October 1960, and then with
the 4900th Air Base Group at Kirtland AFB, New
Mexico, from October 1960 to September 1962. Maj
Britton then attended Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, from September
1962 to June 1963, and then stayed on as a faculty
member of the college until September 1966. Col
Britton next served as Commander of Detachment 5
of the 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery
Squadron (ARRS) at Udorn Royal Thai AFB,
Thailand, from December 1966 to September 1967,
and then as Commander of Detachment 1 of the
37th ARRS at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AFB,
Thailand, from September 1967 to January 1968. He
then served as Chief of Flying Training with the
48th ARRS at Eglin AFB, Florida, from January
1968 to August 1971. During this time, Col Britton
participated in the Son Tay Raid of November 21,
1970. He became Deputy Commander of the 3rd
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group at Tan Son
Nhut AB in the Republic of Vietnam in August 1971,
and served in this position until becoming the
Special Assistant to the Commander of the 41st
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing at Hickam
AFB, Hawaii, in January 1972. Col Britton's final
assignment was as a Staff Officer at Headquarters
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service at Scott
AFB, Illinois, from March 1972 until his
retirement from the Air Force on July 31, 1973.
Warner Britton died on June 10, 2005.
His Air Force Cross Citation reads:
The President of the United States of America,
authorized by Section 8742, Title 10, United
States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to
Lieutenant Colonel Warner A. Britton for
extraordinary heroism in military operations
against an armed enemy of the United States as
the Helicopter Flight Leader during the Prisoner
of War search and rescue operation at Son Tay,
North Vietnam, on 21 November 1970. On that date,
Colonel Britton led a flight of troop-carrying
helicopters on a night mission into an extremely
hostile environment in the heart of North Vietnam.
Although initial conditions following off-loading
of troops in the objective area were considerably
different than planned, he correctly assessed the
new circumstances and at risk of life under direct
close range ground fire, again landed, picked up a
load of troops, and moved them to a new location.
His final departure from the objective area was
through an intense array of surface-to-air
missiles which he evaded with calm, exceptional
flying skill. Colonel Britton, without regard for
his personal safety, contributed immeasurably to
the tactical success of the rescue attempt.
Through his extraordinary heroism, superb
airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the
enemy, Colonel Britton reflected the highest
credit upon himself and the United States Air
Force.
From:
http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?r
ecordID=434
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 10/23/2024
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