Robin Olds was born in Honolulu. He spent his boyhood days in the Hampton, Virginia, area where he attended elementary and high school. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, and was commissioned as second lieutenant in June 1943. A member of the academy football team, he was selected as All-American tackle in 1942. He completed pilot training in 1943.
Olds was rated a triple ace, having shot down a total of 17 enemy aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War. He began his combat flying in a P-38 Lightning during World War II, and at the end of the war he was flying a P-51 Mustang and was credited with 107 combat missions and 24.5 victories, 12 aircraft shot down and 11 1/2 aircraft destroyed on the ground.
During the Vietnam War in October 1966, Olds entered combat flying in southeast Asia in a F-4 Phantom II. He completed 152 combat missions, including 105 over North Vietnam. Utilizing air-to-air missiles, he shot down over North Vietnam two Mig-17 and two Mig-21 aircraft, two of these on one mission. His plane was retired from operational service and is currently on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Tickets are available at the theatre’s ticket counter, can be ordered online through afmuseum.com/livinghistory or by calling 937-253-4629 for $12 ($10 for Friends members).
The Air Force Museum Theatre is operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation Inc., a private, non-profit organization that assists the Air Force in the development and expansion of the facilities of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. For more information on the Air Force Museum Foundation, visit www.afmuseum.com. The Air Force Museum Foundation is not part of the Department of Defense or any of its components and it has no governmental status.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is the world's largest military aviation museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
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