2nd Lt. Oscar D. Hutton Jr.
August 21, 1915 – July 18, 1944
Class 43-J-SE
Graduation Date: November 3, 1943
Graduation Rank: Second Lieutenant
Unit: 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group
Service # O-814830
Like many of the Tuskegee Airmen, 2nd Lt. Oscar D. Hutton Jr. was highly educated, earning his master’s degree at the University of Chicago.
Hutton attended Langston University in his home state of Oklahoma before moving to Chicago to pursue a master’s degree. In 1939, Hutton wrote a master’s thesis on labor unions, titled “The Negro Worker and the Labor Unions in Chicago.” His thesis has been cited in a handful of books about Chicago’s unions.
In 1940, Hutton and his girlfriend had a son. Soon after, Hutton joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. He graduated from flight training on Nov. 3, 1943, at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Ala. In February 1944, he deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group.
On July 18, the 332nd Fighter Group was sent to escort bombers to an airfield in Memmingen, Germany. When the 66 P-51 Mustang pilots arrived at the rendezvous point, the bombers they were to meet weren’t there. The fighter pilots circled the area; they spotted the bombers and a swarm of 30 enemy planes at the same time. More than 20 of the P-51 pilots rushed toward the Messerschmitt 109s to break up the attack. The bombers and the rest of the fighters continued toward the target. Near Kempten, Germany, about 25 miles from the target, 30 more enemy planes were spotted. Four of them rushed to attack the bombers; the P-51 pilots fought back.
In all, nine pilots were credited with destroying 12 enemy planes that day. But three men were reported missing: Hutton and Lt. Wellington Irving were last seen over Memmingen, and Lt. Gene C. Browne was forced to crash-land and was captured.
Oscar Douglas Hutton Jr is buried or memorialized at Booker T Washington Cemetery, Muskogee, Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
Sources:
Air Force Together We Served
Findagrave.com
HonorStates.org
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
