Colonel James Philo Hagerstrom was a fighter ace of both the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War. With a career total of 14. 5 victories, he is one of seven American pilots to have achieved ace status in two different wars. He died in nearby Shreveport of stomach cancer in 1994.
About James P. Hagerstrom in brief
Colonel James Philo Hagerstrom was a fighter ace of both the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War. With a career total of 14. 5 victories, he is one of seven American pilots to have achieved ace status in two different wars. Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, he became interested in flying at a young age. He left college in 1941 to join the USAAF, and participated in the New Guinea campaign of the South West Pacific theater of World War II. In 1965, he served in command roles during the Vietnam War while flying 30 combat missions. After retiring in 1968, he traveled around the Pacific Ocean in a homemade boat with his family, living on several islands. He died in nearby Shreveport of stomach cancer in 1994. He was the third son of Edward and Hazel Hagerstom, and his father worked as an electrician with the Iowa Public Service Company. He also built model airplanes as a hobby, and swam. His older brother Robert happened to be in basic flight training at the same time, and they were together for six weeks. James’ interest in aviation began when he was five, when he had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of a Curtiss JN-4 biplane at a family friend’s farm. He later transferred to the USAF and flew F-86 Sabre fighter jets with the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in “MiG Alley”, the nickname given to the area around the northern border of North Korea with China.
He served in the Air Force, also earning degrees in economics and law, until his retirement in 1968. He is buried in Mansfield, Louisiana, where he lived with his wife and three children. He had a son, Robert, who died in 2008. He has a daughter, Jennifer, who was a first grade teacher. He and his wife, Jennifer Hagerstrom, had three children, Jennifer and Robert, and a son-in-law, Robert Hagerrstrom, who also died in 2010. He lived in Iowa City, and was a member of the Iowa State Teachers College, and the University of Iowa’s Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He flew P-40 Warhawks with the 8th Fighter Squadron. In 1942, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, receiving his wings from Brigadier General Ennis Whitehead. In 1944, he joined the 20 Pursuit Group and was posted to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, flying the P-39 Warhawk. He then moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, and then to Fort Pinellas Air Force Base in Florida. In late September September he was assigned to the 49th Fighter Group and sent to San Francisco, California. In July 1965 he was sent to Fort Torrens, Norway, on the MV Torrenrens. In September 1966, he sailed on the Norwegian MV Marken Torrensen.
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