|
James Maclay Ingalls, was born in Springfield, IL, to LT Fred
Arley Ingalls ’24 (Signal Corps and then Army Air Corps) and Nora Alexander
Ingalls. Jim was the second of three surviving children. His older brother, LTC
Robert Alexander Ingalls, Air Force Reserve and a retired Pan American Captain,
lives in Aptos Beach, CA. His younger sister, Margaret Ann, recently deceased,
married Frank Lee “Skip” Crist of Palo Alto and raised five children there.
1LT Fred “Fritz” Ingalls was a pilot in the early days of the
Army’s transition from the Air Service to the Army Air Corps and flew numerous fixed wing and air ship models. When he was
promoted to captain, the family settled in Palo Alto, CA, where he died on
active duty in 1936. Nora Ingalls’ older brother, Plunket Alexander, was a rated
pilot in the Air Service during WWI. Jim’s brother Robert (Bob) Ingalls flew the
F-86 in the Korean War, and Jim’s son Jim, Jr., is a Navy captain and pilot
(F-14). So the family, including Jim, Sr., spanned military aviation and
participated in most major conflicts of the 20th century.
Jim Ingalls read extensively and made child and adult connections
that led him into the woods and rivers of the bay area. This led to a lifetime
love of hunting and fishing. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1948 and, after a brief
stint at the University of Colorado as a Naval ROTC midshipman, entered West Point via a Presidential Appointment on 5 Jul 1950.
Jim was a very good student. The Tactical Department, however,
presented a challenge. Since Jim had traveled and had “worldly experience,” he
regularly regaled his roommates with stories of his adventures. For example, he could recite the entire
commercial, aired on XEG—The Voice of North America, for a statue of Jesus that
glowed in the dark.
Jim graduated 145th out of 633 in June 1954 and was commissioned
in the Air Force. After receiving his wings, he was selected for F-84s. His
first tour was in Japan, and he made many friends among the Japanese and skied
with their Olympic team. Wherever he was stationed, he looked around “for THE thing to do” in the area. This earned him many local friends and
lifelong hunting and fishing partners.
His next tour, as a captain, was at Laredo, TX, as an instructor.
Jim then completed the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL, and earned his master’s degree from George
Washington University at the same time.
Jim was assigned to the 1st Air Commando Squadron staff in Viet
Nam in 1965. He checked out in A-1Es and spent most of his tour flying close air
support and “Sandy” rescue missions with the 602nd Fighter Squadron.
Jim was shot down while providing close air support near Ban Ban,
Laos, and sent rescue helicopters away when it became clear that the area was too “hot.” Instead, he selected a site on
a nearby mountain for an extraction at first light the next morning and evaded
the enemy overnight. He was successfully rescued the next morning, earning the Bronze Star, the respect of
the “Jolly Green” helicopter pilots and an honorary life membership in their
professional organization. He completed his tour and was highly decorated with
Vietnamese awards, Air Medals, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After Viet Nam he was reassigned to Laredo, TX, to instructor
pilot training. During the tour he enjoyed a brief assignment in the Dominican Republic, training their T-33 pilots (and
getting checked out in their P-51s as a nice perquisite). His next assignment
was as an exchange officer to the Royal Air Force College in England as the War
Studies Team Leader. Jim was promoted to lieutenant colonel during his next
assignment to Keesler AFB, training South Vietnamese pilots, and then became
Director of Operations, Air Force Survival Schools, with HQ at Fairchild AFB,
Spokane, WA. He traveled from Panama to the Philippines to oversee its
operations.
In 1974–75 Jim accepted a last combat assignment as the Director
of Ops for “ The Raven FACs,” a group of special operations pilots providing
close air support, training, and supply to the Laotian and Cambodian military
fighting the Pathet Lao and Khmer Rouge. He assisted the evacuation of his
Cambodian pilots as Cambodia fell to the Khmer forces in 1975. Jim’s final tour was as an instructor and International
Students’ Leader at the Air Command and Staff College. He retired in 1976 and
returned to the Spokane, WA, area. Jim was a stock broker for a few years and
then dabbled in real estate, but his real passions were hunting and fishing with
lifelong friends.
Jim spent a good deal of time in his later life in the company of
his son, CAPT James M. Ingalls, Jr., USN, and his family as they lived and traveled various assignments in the Navy—from hunting
in Texas, again, to buying a sailboat in Puerto Rico and enjoying the Caribbean
for a few years, and traveling with his son, Robert Charles Ingalls. He was a fun person to have
along on any trip, never complaining, positive in outlook, joyous of life,
generous to a fault, sparing with judgment, and always ready to lend a hand. He
was a great friend, father, and grandfather. Jim later moved to the Air Force
Village, San Antonio, where he occasionally enjoyed
fishing and hunting but reveled in poker, dominoes, and dinner parties for his
many friends. He died among them on 5 Oct 1999.
Jim Ingalls is survived by his sons, James M. Ingalls, Jr., and
Robert C. Ingalls, and his brother Robert A. Ingalls. Jim Ingalls Sr., his
father, his mother, and his daughter are all buried at the Presidio of San
Francisco.
—Prepared by his son, Jim Ingalls, Jr.,
assisted by Bill Epling
|
