Eugene August Wink Jr

Military

Evaded (EVD)

One of the first pilots to fly the P-59 Airacomet, the USAAF's first jet

Retired from the USAF with the rank of Lt. Colonel

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

42-75205

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 365th Fighter Group 386th Fighter Squadron

Places

Beaulieu

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: RAF Beaulieu

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Biloxi, Mississippi 19 October 1920

Died

Bismarck, ND 2 August 2014 Eugene "Gene" A. Wink (Lt. Col USAF Retired), 93, Bismarck, passed away on August 2, 2014, at St. Gabriel's Community, Bismarck. Services will be held at 10:00 am Tuesday, August 5, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E Divide Ave, Bismarck, with Rev. Dale Nabben officiating. Burial will be held at 12:00 noon at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held on hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Eugene "Gene" August Wink Jr. was born October 19, 1920, in Biloxi, MS, the son of Eugene August and Ruth (Pates) Wink. Gene graduated from the United States Military Academy West Point and was an Air Force pilot for 26 years. He was honorably discharged on July 31, 1969. Gene Wink served as an officer with Frost Bank in San Antonio, TX, for many years after retiring from the Air Force. He married Irma June Beasley in 1947, in Germany. Gene is survived by his daughter, Sue Karen Wink MD, Bismarck; his son, Bruce Marshall Wink, Jacksonville, FL; his sister, Carolyn Pitts, Tremont, MS; and his grandchildren, Hannah Wink, Sarah Jane Frank and Andy Bowen. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dr. Irma June Wink; his son, Robin Lindsay Wink; his sisters, Iris McDaniel, Marie Shannon, and Ruth Taylor; and his brother, Howard Wink. Gene will be remembered by all those who loved him for his humility, intelligence, humor, and his sense of honor with which he served his God, his family and his nation. Gene Wink memorialized the life he lived in his autobiography, BORN TO FLY by Gene Wink. Memorials can be given to the US Military Academy West Point. He will always be loved by all those who knew him and sorely missed.

Buried

Mandan, North Dakota 5 August 2014 North Dakota Veterans Cemetery Mandan, Morton County, North Dakota, USA

Other

Bailed out/Evaded

SE of Lille, France 2 March 1944 Engine trouble forced Wink to bail out when his engine stopped completely. His last radio transmission was 'I'll see you in three months." It didn't take that long. He evaded and was back at Gosfield in April 1944

Other

412th Fighter Group

Muroc AAF (Edwards AFB), CA Was part of the fighter group that was stood up to fly the first American jet, the Bell P-59 Airacomet. Captain Eugene A. Wink of the 412th was one of the first line military pilots to fly the Airacomet. He had flown the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in combat in Europe and had been impressed with its ruggedness. In contrast, “the Airacomet seemed a little flimsy, a little fragile,” Wink recalled. He said, however, that it “could turn on a dime” and “I always wondered what it would be like to get into a dogfight with it.”

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

added date to bio

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/28737924?terms=macr,2718
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133767832/eugene-a.-wink
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/take-look-americas-first-fight…

Date
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- MACR 2718

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

MACR 2718 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database