Carl J. Luksic
US Air Force lieutenant colonel and flying ace
Carl John Luksic (June 20, 1921 – May 24, 2009) was a United States Air Force lieutenant colonel. During World War II, he became a flying ace credited with 8.5 aerial victories, including five in one day for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He himself was shot down and taken as a prisoner of war before his successful escape from captivity.
Early life and World War II
Carl J. Luksic was born on June 20, 1921, at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on March 22, 1942, where he entered the Aviation Cadet Training Program. Luksic earned his wings and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on October 30, 1942, at Luke Field, Arizona.
Luksic was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, flying P-47 Thunderbolts at Westover Field, Massachusetts, in January 1943. The squadron soon moved to Trumbull Field, Connecticut, and then Mitchel Field, New York in March, before deploying to England in July 1943.
Flying ace
Luksic's squadron was attached to the Eight Air Force and stationed at RAF Bodney in Norfolk, England. In April 1944, his squadron transitioned to P-51 Mustangs.
The public source identifies “Carl J. Luksic” as uS Air Force lieutenant colonel and flying ace. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Carl, Luksic and Force.
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This entry incorporates text from “Carl J. Luksic” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.