Academy receives bust of ace pilot 'Gabby' Gabrenski

Relatives of Col. Francis "Gabby" Gabreski traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to attend the dedication ceremony for a bust in his honor at the U.S. Air Force Academy Sept. 29, 2009. Colonel Gabreski was a fighter ace in World War II and the Korean War. Among those attending were Polish Consul Tomasz Skotnicki, retired Col. Don Gabreski, the ace pilot's son, and Air Force Materiel Command vice commander Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, Colonel Gabreski's daughter-in-law. (U.S. Air Force photo/Bill Evans)

Academy receives bust of WWII, Korea ace at dedication ceremony

Published Oct. 13, 2009

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Relatives of World War II and Korean War ace Col. Francis "Gabby" Gabreski, including the vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command, came to the Air Force Academy Sept. 30 to take part in a ceremony dedicating a bust to the Air Force legend.

"Gabby's" son, retired Col. Don Gabreski, Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, and Chester Lipinski were among the guest speakers at the event.

Mr. Lipinski was one of the principal organizers behind the statue dedication, according to Academy historian and museum specialist Paul Martin.

Colonel Gabreski joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1940, training at Parks Air College and later at Gunter Army Air Base and Maxwell Field in Alabama. He graduated from Maxwell in March 1941. During World War II, he fought with the 315th Squadron and the 56th Fighter Group before being captured by the German army.

In July 1951, Colonel Gabreski began flying an F-86 Sabre in the Korean War. Less than a year later, he recorded his fifth kill, making him the first of only a few pilots to become aces in two wars. He retired in November 1967, having flown more combat missions than any other American fighter pilot. He died Jan. 31, 2002, in Huntington Hospital on Long Island, N.Y.