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Lt. Robert "Swat" Milliken

Wed Dec 28, 2016 6:28 pm

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Robert Milliken on December 26th. Bob was the sole surviving fighter ace of the 474th Fighter Group and the last P-38 pilot to achieve ace status in the ETO. Bob and I became good friends several years ago and I had the privilege of personally interviewing him on several occasions about his combat experiences. His memory was always extremely sharp despite the passage of time. I felt like I was right there with him in the cockpit every time I listened to one of his stories. His nickname was "Swat" and that was the noseart he had on his P-38 along with the bucking bronco logo of the University of Wyoming.

Re: Lt. Robert "Swat" Milliken

Thu Dec 29, 2016 9:22 am

Sorry to hear. Any links to more info on him? Sounds like an interesting guy.

Re: Lt. Robert "Swat" Milliken

Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:31 am

There's a short bit here:

http://www.worldnavalships.com/aces.php?PilotID=3324

http://trib.com/honor/wwii/st-lt-robert ... 80f8c.html

Also a book:

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/ ... edir_esc=y

Re: Lt. Robert "Swat" Milliken

Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:03 pm

Bob actually has two biographies. One (mentioned in the previous text) is titled Swat's Story by Vern E. Shelton. The other is titled Fork-Tail Devil by James G. Speight. You can find it on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Fork-Tail-Devil- ... 1496964233. Bob is also mentioned in John Stanaway's excellent Osprey book "P-38 Lightning Aces of the ETO/MTO". I was just in my local Barnes and Noble today when I found a great book on America's Fighter Aces. It's titled Wings of Valor by Nick Del Calzo and can also be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Valor-Hono ... 1591146410. Bob has a nice write up in this book as well.

Re: Lt. Robert "Swat" Milliken

Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:41 am

Thanks for all the links guys. Good stuff and thanks for posting.
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