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James Dennis Mugavero, American Flying Ace

Welcome to my first post in a very long time! Despite Covid seeming to be the perfect opportunity to power ahead with my research and blogging, I actually found myself concentrating on other projects. I hope to get back into the research soon, but I did have this post sitting around as a draft from when I was researching my Phelan ancestors: it is about a family link to an American World War II Flying Ace, James Mugavero:

James Dennis Mugavero was born on 3 July 1920 in Port Huron, Michigan. He grew up there and attended Port Huron Junior College before enlisting in the U.S. Army following the United States’ entry into World War II. He applied for pilot training, was accepted, and was sent to Arcadia Field, Florida, for Primary Flight Training, with Basic Flight School at Bainbridge Field, Georgia. He subsequently earned his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant at Marianna, Florida on 1 October 1943. Following additional training in the P-47, Lieutenant Mugavero was sent to the Southwest Pacific Theater to serve with the 41st Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, arriving in January 1944.

Sometime after his arrival, James met an 18-year old Australian girl by the name of Patricia Anne Tobin. Patricia was a second cousin of my Dad (see chart below for how she fits into the tree). On 16 September 1944 the couple were wed at St Vincent de Paul's church at Redfern in Sydney. Of course with the war on they would not have too much time together, and very soon James was in the thick of the action.

Mugavero's first 'victories' came on October 14: Flying escort for a bombing strike on the Japanese base at Balikpapan, Borneo, he engaged a formation of four Japanese Ki-43 Oscars, fired a short burst at one and saw it explode. Rolling away, he sighted another Oscar 3,000 feet below. Diving on the Japanese fighter, he opened fire as soon as he came within range. As black smoke streamed from the crippled Oscar, the canopy blew off, and Mugavero saw it disintegrate as it dove into the ground. He was awarded the Silver Star for his action that day.

In subsequent aerial battles, Lieutenant Mugavero shot down a Kate and a Tony in November. He became an ace (defined as shooting down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat) on 13 January 1945 with his final kills when he destroyed a Hamp and an Oscar on the same afternoon mission.

Mugavero left the service after the end of the war, and in April he and his wife departed Sydney to begin their married life together in the United States. James was soon recalled to active duty in 1950 for the Korean War buildup and remained in the Air Force; for a period in the 1960s he served in the Eighth Bomb Squadron in the Third Bomb Wing, based (with his family) outside Tokyo. Read this article for a very interesting tale of when he thought he might have been facing World War III! James retired finally from the force in May 1970 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

The couple had three children through the 1950s: Michael, Melinda and Jennifer. They lived at various addresses in the USA before settling into retirement in San Mateo, California. James Mugavero passed away on 15 April 1996 and Patricia Mugavero on  30 April 1997 and both are buried in the Vets Section of the Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo. They were survived by their children and grandchildren; it would be interesting to one day connect with these distant Phelan relatives!   

James Dennis Mugavero's War Record:
Tally Record: 6 confirmed.
Decorations: Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, Philippines Liberation Medal.








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