Robin Olds was destined to be a military pilot. His father, Maj. Gen. Robert Olds, was a WWI pursuit pilot, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell’s aide, commander of the first B-17 squadron, and organizer of the Ferrying Command. Robin Olds attended West Point, became an All-American tackle and graduated in 1943. After pilot training, he went to England in May, 1944 as a P-38 pilot with the 434th Fighter Squadron and flew three missions over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Olds was a daring pilot and a natural leader. He quickly shot down five enemy fighters to become the 479th Fighter Group’s first ace and, at the young age of 22, was promoted to Major and became Squadron Commander. His unit converted to P-51s and he ended the war with 12 victories. After World War II, Olds joined the first P-80 jet demonstration team, married Hollywood film star Ella Raines and returned to England to become the first American commander of famed RAF Squadron #1 at Tangmere. Between 1950 and 1963 he held various assignments commanding operational units, including Wheelus AFB in Tripoli, then did a five year stint in the Pentagon. In 1963, as CO of the 81st Fighter Wing in England, having missed the Korean War, Olds became determined to get into combat when the Southeast Asia War escalated.
In the fall of 1966, Olds took command of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. His charisma and courage endeared him to his people, and under his leadership as a 45 year old Colonel, the “Wolfpack” became the USAF’s top MiG-killing wing in Southeast Asia. He led from the front, sharing the same risks as his aircrews by flying the most dangerous missions. He received many decorations for his audacity in combat, including the Air Force Cross for a mission in August 1967, when he led a strike force against the heavily-defended Paul Doumer Bridge in North Vietnam.
The crowning achievement for Olds was planning and leading OPERATION BOLO, when North Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots were tricked into an air battle at a disadvantage. Olds shot down a MiG-21, and his 8th TFW F-4 aircrews shot down six others with no losses. He also shot down three other MiGs during his tour, famously refusing to claim a fifth to become an ace. He did not want to be sent home away from his men. After BOLO, Olds grew his famous mustache in open defiance of Washington DC orders to “take it off”. Mustache March continues in his honor to this day.
In October 1967, Olds became Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy and was promoted to Brigadier General. He retired from active duty in 1973 after a two-year stint as Inspector General of the Air Force and an attempt to give back his star in favor of returning to Vietnam as a combat pilot and commander. In 1985 he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame and, in 2001, was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.