A  RECORD  SETTING  ACE

LTCOL John Franklin Bolt was a Marine Corps decorated ace who served during World War II and the Korean War.  He remains the only Marine to achieve ace status in two wars and was the only Marine jet fighter ace.

Born to a poor family in Laurens, South Carolina, Bolt was a self-described workaholic throughout his life.  For the most part he was responsible for providing his own clothes and social expenses from the time he was ten years old.  As a boy, he worked several part time jobs and at one time worked 30 to 40 hours weekly at a local creamery.  He also enrolled in the Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Star Scout.  After dropping out of the University of Florida for financial reasons, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve in April 1941 and trained as a pilot.  Following flight training he received his wings and was commissioned in July 1942.  After an initial assignment as a cadet training instructor at NAS Jacksonville, he received training in the F4F Wildcat fighter.  In June 1943 he departed for the Pacific Theater and was assigned to the new unit VMF-214 which became widely known as the Black Sheep Squadron.  The unit was equipped with the new F4U Corsairs which Bolt flew every chance he got and by September 1943 he had over 700 hours in the F4U, more than many combat pilots accrued in two combat tours.

Bolt was considered by his fellow pilots to be the most energetic member of the squadron and took up upon himself during his spare time to test many different ammunition configurations for the F4U guns.  His work led to most of the squadrons in the Pacific Theater to begin firing six incendiary round for every one armor-piercing round, rather than firing one for one.  He also drew the ire of his commanding officer when Bolt’s flight was returning after an escort mission for B-24 Liberators and the planes encountered poor weather.  Although they observed considerable surface traffic they did not engage due to the weather.  After landing Bolt was unsuccessful in convincing others to join him in returning to attack the ships they had seen so after refueling he took off, against orders, and destroyed four enemy barges and strafed several ground concentrations before returning to his base.  The following day a telegram was received from Admiral Halsey commending him for “That one man war…conducted by LT Bolt against Jap stuff.  Warm heart.  Halsey.”

During the remainder World War II, Bolt engaged in numerous engagements during which he was credited with shooting down six Japanese planes, an additional “probable” victory and two aircraft damaged.  He remained on active duty following World War II, and during the Korean War, as pilot of the F-86 Sabre, he was credited with the destruction of six enemy aircraft, becoming the only Marine pilot to become an ace in this war.

Following his return from Korea, Bolt was assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics in the Pentagon as an aircraft design engineer.  Bolt’s experiences in World War II and the Korean War were also used to help shape air combat doctrine.  In 1958, LTCOL Bolt became the Commanding Officer of VMF-214, his World War II squadron.  The final three years of his Marine Corps career he was an instructor at the Senior School of Amphibious Warfare at Quantico.  After retiring from the Corps, he began a new career as an attorney, specializing in real estate law.  John Franklin Bolt died of acute leukemia in Tampa, Florida, on September 8, 2004 and was survived by his wife and two grandchildren.

NAVY  CROSS  CITATION

“The Navy Cross is presented to John F. Bolt, Lt Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the united Nations while attached to the First Marine Aircraft Wing and serving as a pilot of a plane in the Thirty-Ninth Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Fifth Air Force, in action against enemy aggressor forces in the Republic of Korea on 11 July 1953.  Sighting four hostile jet interceptors immediately after the second section of his four-plane flight was forced to retire from the area because of a low fuel supply during a reconnaissance mission deep in enemy territory.  Major Bolt quickly maneuvered his aircraft and that of his wingman into attack position and deliberately engaged the numerically superior enemy in a head-on firing run, destroying one of the hostile planes with his initial burst of fire.  Although his fuel supply was dangerously low, he initiated repeated attacks on the remaining enemy aircraft and severely damaging the engine section of the lead interceptor, routinely pressed his attack against the crippled plane until the enemy pilot was forced to bail out.  By his exceptional courage and superb airmanship in destroying the two aircraft, Major Bolt raised his total of enemy jet planes destroyed during the Korean War to six, thereby becoming the first jet ace in Marine Corps aviation.  His inspiring leadership and great personal valor reflect the highest credit upon himself and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)