An American “aviation legend (NY Times)” Robin Olds certainly led an interesting life. Now you can hear from his daughter Christina Olds (author, “Fighter Pilot”). Robin started out like so many others (Cadet, West Point), moving up the ranks to retire as Brigadier General and Commandant of the USAF Academy in Colorado. In between is where it gets really interesting. Robin was a “Triple Ace” fighter pilot (ace equals five aerial victories) from WWII and Vietnam. He was “the” fighter pilot of the famous 1967 Vietnam "Operation Bolo". The son of Major General Robert Olds, Robin was tried and true even before war. While at West Point, Robin was a football All-American and is the only person elected to the NCAA Hall of Fame and the Aviation Hall of Fame. True to his all-American image, Robin married a Hollywood actress, Ella Raines , who starred with John Wayne and Burt Lancaster. He was a Air Force Thunderbird before there was an Air Force and before there were Thunderbirds. Robin was in the first group of the USAF’s predecessor the Army-Air Force Corp and the Thunderbird’s predecessor the 30th Aero Squadron. Come hear from Robin’s daughter the back stories and inside scoops on the fascinating heroes of our time.
