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James H. McPartlin, retired Air Force general who was decorated WWII B-17 pilot, dies at 93



James H. McPartlin flew 35 combat missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot during World War II on sorties that included the first air raid over Berlin and the first U.S. low-level mission against the German submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, France.

Mr. McPartlin, 93, died Oct. 25 of natural causes at an assisted-living center in Salt Lake City.

A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Plano, where a lunch will follow the service. He will be buried at 3:30 p.m. at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Geoff McPartlin of San Diego said his father started to open up about his war experiences after Tom Brokaw published his 1999 book, The Greatest Generation Speaks.

“That era, they were so humble about it all,” said Geoff McPartlin.

The retired Air Force general started addressing Veterans Day observances and similar gatherings.

“I told him he needed an agent,” his son said. “He was getting called all the time.”

Mr. McPartlin was born Nov. 20, 1918, in Dyer, Ind., and grew up in Pontiac, Mich. He attended the University of Detroit. He served in the Michigan National Guard from 1935 to 1938. He later attended the University of Houston and was a graduate of the Army Command and Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

He married Virginia “Ginnie” Saunders in 1941. Mrs. McPartlin died in 2004.

In July 1941, he enlisted as an aviation cadet and was trained as a fighter pilot.

In August 1942, he was assigned to the 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Eighth Air Force based in Bassingbourn, England, with the rank of major. He was named operations officer for his squadron.

In April 1944, he was named commander of the 401st squadron, a post he held until he returned home in August 1944.

Mr. McPartlin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster and an Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. The Royal Air Force honored him with a Battle for Britain Medal.

He was with the reserves briefly after the war but was later called to active duty with the 439th Airlift Wing at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan, where he was named wing commander in 1956.

Mr. McPartlin next was a commander with the 442nd troop carrier wing based at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base near Kansas City, Mo.

He was named a brigadier general in February 1961. He retired in 1969.

In 1970, he moved to Richardson, where was human resources director for Pearle Vision. He retired from that position in the mid-1970s.

Mr. McPartlin was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration for many years but had returned to his roots in the Catholic Church.

He was a Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program volunteer and often greeted troops returning to D/FW Airport from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to his son, Mr. McPartlin is survived by three other sons, James McPartlin of Ambler, Pa., Mark McPartlin of Dallas and Dr. David McPartlin of Arlington; a daughter, Daphne Schroth of Frisco, Colo.; a brother, Raymond McPartlin of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; two sisters, Margaret Kelly of Tifton, Ga., and Mary Curry of Fairfield, Tenn.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

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