Paul S. 'Rip' Riley was born 17 February 1919 in New York, Pennsylvania. With the outbreak of WW II in Europe he went to Canada to join the RCAF in October 1941 and received his wings in August 1942. He remained with the RCAF and was attached to an RAF squadron flying Spitfires and hurricanes while stationed in Scotland.

In May 1943 he transferred to the US Army Air Corps. In September he was assigned to the 4th Fighter group, 335th Squadron. He checked out in the P-47 Thunderbolt and claimed his first victory, an Me-110 downed near Koblenz, on 20 February 1944. The group switched to

P-51B Mustangs and he was credited with downing an Me-109 on 4 March and damaging another one the next day. On 16 March he shot down one Me-110 and damaged another south-west of Munich. He completed the month with the destruction of an Me-109 north of Ulzen on the 29th.

On 5 April the 4th Fighter Group swept deep into Germany and attacked Luftwaffe airfields in the Berlin area and destroyed 43 aircraft on the ground and two in the air, one being an

He-111 which was downed by Riley. Three days later, escorting bombers to industrial targets in Brunswick, the group was bounced by 100-plus German fighters near Celle. In the ensuing battle the group claimed 31 enemy aircraft destroyed, including an Fw-190 credited to Riley.



On the 10th he added a Bu-131 trainer to his score and shared a 109 on the 22nd.



Two days later, near Worms, the squadron was jumped by 35-plus Fw-190s. The squadron destroyed 10 of them. Riley downed one Fw-190 and collided with another, shearing off one-quarter of his left wing. The German baled out, but Riley was able to recover and control his plane, and he started for home at 4,000 feet. He was then hit by flak and baled out, landing about 60 yards from the flak battery that had shot him down. It was fortunate because he was injured and they picked him up, immediately taking him to a hospital. He had to wait for several days before they properly cared for his broken leg. He then became a POW, incarcerated in Stalag Luft III. With his broken leg recovering, he suffered the usual lack of proper nutrition, eventually losing 45 pounds.

He, with other disabled prisoners, was transported by overcrowded boxcars to a destination at a Stalag near Nuremberg. Later in the spring the camp was evacuated, and they were marched to Mooseburg. Shortly thereafter the camp was liberated by Patton's army. He was then transported to Camp Lucky Strike, France, where he was treated, deloused, clothed, and sent to the States by ship, arriving the day after VE Day.



Lieutenant Riley was credited with 9.5 Enemy aircraft Destroyed. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.