Noted U.S. General To Visit Chch.

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31032, 12 April 1966, Page 16

Noted U.S. General To Visit Chch.

Major-General Chester E. McCarty, the first—and only—United States Air Force general to fly over the South Pole (on October 26, 1956), will visit Christchurch again this week. General McCarty was commander of the 18th Air Force at the time when Air Force Globemasters were flying supplies from Christchurch to the Antarctic.

General McCarty, who is a lawyer in Portland, Oregon, retired last month front active duty in the Air Force after 36 years of military service as a citizen soldier over a period of more than 45 years. He served as a pilot in the Ai Transport Command during the Second World War, and as commander of the 82nd Air Transport Group in the Middle East he delivered hundreds of American planes to the Russians under lendlease.

In 1946. General McCarty returned to his law practice but remained active in the Air Force Reserves. When the Korean War began General McCarty, who was then a brigadier - general, took Oregon’s 403rd Troop Carrier Wing of the Air Force Reserves to Japan and Korea. In Korea he commanded the 315th Air Division, and won the second star of a majorgeneral. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for leading a stream of unarmed transport planes through enemy fire to help save Allied toops cut off behind the enemy lines. General McCarty commanded the 18th Ai Force in 1955 and 1956, and was one of the fist pilots to land on the ice of Arctic lakes with ten-ton bulldozers and other heavy equipment to build the distant-early-warning line of radar stations.

When General McCaty flew over the South Pole he became the first Air Force pilot to fly over both Poles within a month, and also the first to make a supply drop at the South Pole. His Globemaster, christened State of Oregon, dropped an automatic weather station and five tons of fuel oil. The flight was made in 'ess than 24 hours from the time he left Christchurch, nd he was back at Harewood in less than 48 hours after what he described as a strictly routine flight.

Later General McCarty commanded the 12th Air Force of the Tactical Air Command. In 1958 he was called back to duty to supervise the deployment of a strike force of supersonic fighter-bombers

from George Air Force Base, California, 9500 miles across the Pacific to Formosa. The movement was made in 16hrs 31mins flying time, the planes refuelling in flight. During the Oregon Centennial Expedition in 1959 a formation of FlO4 Starfighters from the 12th Air Force flew 1500 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Independence, Oregon. They covered the distance in 2hrs 15min.