{{short description|United States Marine Corps general and fighter ace (1911–2015)}} {{Infobox military person | name = Frederick R. Payne Jr. | image = Frederick Payne.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | nickname = Fritz | birth_date = {{birth date|1911|7|31}} | birth_place = [[Elmira, New York]], United States | death_date = {{death date and age|2015|8|6|1911|7|31}} | death_place = [[Rancho Mirage, California]], United States | burial_place = | allegiance = United States | branch = [[United States Marine Corps]] | service_years = 1935–1958 | rank = [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] | service_number = | unit = | commands = | battles = [[World War II]]<br />[[Korean War]] | awards = {{Plainlist| * [[Navy Cross]] * [[Legion of Merit]] * [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] * [[Air Medal]] (6) }} | relations = | other_work = [[Southern California Edison]] (1958–1976) }} '''Frederick Rounsville Payne Jr.''' (July 31, 1911 – August 6, 2015) was a [[World War III|World War II]] [[Ace (military)|Ace]]<ref name="MilTimes" /> and a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. Payne was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] for service with [[VMFA-212|VMF-212]].<ref name="MilTimes" />
==Education== He attended the United States Naval Academy from 1930 to 1932 and subsequently graduated from the [[University of Arizona]] in 1935.<ref name="MilTimes">{{cite web |title=Valor awards for Frederick Rounsville Payne Jr |work=militarytimes.com |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/7655 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225043713/http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=7655 |access-date=August 8, 2015 |archive-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Salute to Our Oldest Alumni |work=Feature |publisher=[[United States Naval Academy]] |url=http://www.usna.com/document.doc?id=239 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225050645/http://www.usna.com/document.doc?id=239 |date=July 9, 2012 |access-date=March 1, 2015 |archive-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Major Frederick R. Payne Jr. USMC |work=475th.org |url=http://www.475th.org/home/475th/friends-of-the-475th/149-major-frederick-r-payne-jr-usmc |access-date=August 8, 2015 |archive-date=August 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822083823/http://475th.org/home/475th/friends-of-the-475th/149-major-frederick-r-payne-jr-usmc |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fritz Payne US Marine Corp Ace of World War Two |work=garfieldsteamhouse.org |url=http://www.garfieldsteamhouse.org/History/WWII/Marine-Corp-Ace.php |access-date=August 8, 2015 |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907213500/http://www.garfieldsteamhouse.org/History/WWII/Marine-Corp-Ace.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Career== Payne was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] for service with [[VMFA-212|VMF-212]] on [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Guadalcanal]] between September and October 1942, shooting down six Japanese airplanes.<ref name="MilTimes" /> After the war, he continued his service with U.S. Marines and fought in the Korean war until he retired from U.S. Marines in 1958. In his post-military career, Payne helped plan the construction of the [[San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station]], He retired from [[Southern California Edison]] in 1976. He was also honored with the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in May 2015. Payne died six days after his 104th birthday on August 6, 2015, at Rancho Mirage, California; at the time of his death he was the oldest living former fighter ace.<ref name="LAT">{{cite news |last=Chawkins |first=Steve |title=Brig. Gen. Frederick Payne Jr. dies at 104; Marine fighter ace in WWII |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-fritz-payne-20150812-story.html |date=August 12, 2015 |access-date=July 24, 2020}}</ref>
==Awards== {| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- |colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Naval Aviator Badge.png|width=256|alt=}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Navy_Cross_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|other_device=v|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=5|type=award-star|other_device=|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|other_device=|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=U.S._Navy_Unit_Commendation_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=7|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National_Defense_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Korea).svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Republic_of_Korea_War_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- |colspan="3"|[[United States Aviator Badge|Naval Aviator Badge]] |- |[[Navy Cross]] |[[Legion of Merit]]<br />w/ [[Combat "V"]] |[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] |- |[[Air Medal]]<br />w/ 5⁄16" [[5/16 inch star|silver star]] |[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Navy Presidential Unit Citation]]<br>w/ {{frac|3|16}}" [[service star|bronze star]] |[[Navy Unit Commendation]] |- |[[American Defense Service Medal]]<br>w/ [[Fleet clasp|fleet clasp]] |[[American Campaign Medal]] |[[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br>w/ one {{frac|3|16}}" silver star and two {{frac|3|16}} bronze stars |- |[[World War II Victory Medal]] |[[National Defense Service Medal]] |[[Korean Service Medal]]<br>w/ two {{frac|3|16}} bronze stars |- |[[Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation]] |[[United Nations Service Medal Korea]] |[[Korean War Service Medal]]<br>''(retroactive)'' |- |} * [[Congressional Gold Medal]] (2015)<ref name="Gold Medal">{{cite web |last=113th Congress |title=H.R.685 - American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal Act |website=Congress.gov |date=23 May 2014 |publisher=Library of Congress |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/685/text |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref>
===Navy Cross citation=== [[File:Navy_Cross.png|50px|left]] <blockquote>The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Major Frederick Rounsville Payne, Jr., United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession while serving as a Pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWELVE (VMF-212), Marine Air Group TWENTY-THREE (MAG-23), FIRST Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces over Guadalcanal, in the Solomons Islands Area during September and October 1942. Throughout that strenuous period when the island airfield was under constant bombardment and our precarious ground positions were menaced by the desperate counter thrusts of a fanatical foe, Major Payne repeatedly patrolled hostile territory and intercepted enemy bombing flights. With bold determination and courageous disregard of personal safety, he pressed home numerous attacks against heavily escorted waves of invading bombers and, in five vigorous fights against tremendous odds, shot down a total of six Japanese planes. His superb flying skill and dauntless initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.</blockquote><ref name="MilTimes" />
==Personal== He came from a military family: his father served in the [[Spanish–American War]] after graduating from the [[United States Naval Academy]] and [[World War I]]. He was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and he also attended the Naval Academy. He enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] and became a pilot. He was married to Dorothy and had three children: Son, Robert Payne, Son, Dewitt, and daughter, Ann Wilson Payne.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Sam |title=Frederick Payne, Decorated Fighter Ace in the Pacific, Dies at 104 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/us/frederick-payne-decorated-fighter-ace-dies-at-104.html |access-date=24 July 2020 |date=21 August 2015}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of World War II aces from the United States]] * [[List of World War II flying aces]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book| title = Aces Against Japan | last = Hammel | first = Eric | year = 2010 | orig-year = First published 1992 | publisher = [[Pocket Books]] | location = New York | isbn = 978-189098808-1 | ref = none }} *{{cite book| title = Aces in Combat: The American Aces Speak | last = Hammel | first = Eric | year = 1998 | publisher = Pacifica Military History | location = Pacifica, California | volume = 5 | isbn = 093555361-4 | ref = none }} *{{cite book| title = Hellcat Aces of World War 2 | last = Tillman | first = Barrett | year = 1996 | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = London | isbn = 185532596-9 | ref = none }} *{{cite book| title = Hellcat: The F6F in World War II | edition = 1st | last = Tillman | first = Barrett | year = 1979 | publisher = [[Naval Institute Press]] | location = Annapolis, Maryland | isbn = 978-155750991-8 | ref = none }} {{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Frederick R. Jr.}} [[Category:1911 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:American World War II flying aces]] [[Category:American men centenarians]] [[Category:Military personnel from Elmira, New York]] [[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]] [[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]] [[Category:Aviators from New York (state)]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps generals]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War]] [[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]] [[Category:University of Arizona alumni]]