and Colonel Paul P. Douglas Jr.
Steve Stephen got involved in another special aircraft painting task for Lt. Col. Hillding while in Guam. The Wing Commander of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat when the squadron arrived was Colonel Paul P. Douglas Jr.
During World War II, Col. Douglas flew the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Theater of Operations and became one of the most highly decorated combat aces of the war with a total of eight aerial victories. While at Korat, Col. Douglas flew a full tour of bombing and fighter missions over North Vietnam. During his tour he flew Republic F-105D Thunderchief 59-1743, which he also named “The Arkansas Traveler”. Steve’s task was to supervise the painting of “The Arkansas Traveler” art on the nacelle of F-4E 67-0288 so that when the squadron arrived at Korat Lt. Col. Hillding could present the aircraft to Col. Douglas as “His F-4E”. Tail number 0288 was the best available. We did not have a 388 that would have been perfect for the commander of the 388th TFW.
While searching the Internet for some background information about Col. Douglas and the Arkansas Traveler, we found some interesting pictures.
