"Tex" Hill's Grandson Writes of Hero's History
What do you do when your grandfather
was played by John Wayne in a movie, a general at age 31 and a bona
fide American war hero? If you are Maj. Reagan Schaupp, you write a
book about him.
Schaupp, of the 50th Space Support Squadron at Schriever AFB
(CO), has spent the last five years working with his 88-year-old
grandfather, retired Brig. Gen. David Lee "Tex" Hill, to make sure
his grandfather's legacy is not forgotten. From his birth to
missionary parents in Kwangju, Korea, in 1915, to his pilot heroics
with the Flying Tigers, to his 60-year marriage to Mazie Hill,
Schaupp had more than enough material to work with.
By almost any standard, Hill is a true American hero. After
serving in a torpedo squadron on the USS Saratoga and a
dive-bomber squadron on the USS Ranger, he was recruited
in 1941 to serve in Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group,
the Flying Tigers.
During his time as a pilot with the Flying Tigers and in World
War II, Hill distinguished himself as a triple ace with 18.25
victories. His success, commitment to service, dynamic personality
and leadership earned him full-bird-colonel status at age 29 and a
general's star at 31.
He was such a real-life hero that
the 1940's movie icon of American heroism, John Wayne, played him
in the 1942 movie, The Flying Tigers. Eventually, Hill
became friends with Wayne and they golfed and hunted together.
As is often the case with youth, Schaupp admits, "I didn't
really appreciate my grandfather as much when I was young, but I
loved to listen to his old war stories."
When Schaupp was a kid, he lived near his grandfather in San
Antonio, so he was able to see him nearly every week. He sat
wide-eyed, listening to his grandfather’s stories, including
the one about the Samurai sword that sits above Hill's fireplace at
home.
As the story goes, after a victorious head-to-head dogfight,
Hill visited his opponent's crash site. He climbed what was left of
the plane and peered into the cockpit, spotting a shimmering sword
still attached to his enemy. It is that very sword that Schaupp
gazed at with wonder as a child.
Schaupp got the idea to write a book about his grandfather when
he was at the Air Force Weapons School in 1998. He was telling
stories of his grandfather to a friend, who asked where he could
get a copy of his book. Schaupp told him that there was none. His
friend promptly scolded him by saying, "If you don't record his
legacy, it will be lost."
That comment began a five-year task that is now complete.
"I wrote the book primarily for family, especially at first,"
Schaupp said. "But friends encouraged me to make it marketable to
the public because so many people wanted his story written
down."
Schaupp began writing the book by going to San Antonio to
interview and record his grandfather's wild tales. Then, he mixed
his stories with history to make a 400-page document. After that,
Schaupp said, "The story wrote itself... It would be awesome for
anybody to work with someone like Tex, but multiply that by five
because he's my grandfather," Schaupp said. "It's a great
accomplishment to write a book about someone with such a great
story, but there is a great sense of honor and pride because he's
family."
[Thanks to 2nd Lt. Ian Kallenbach, 50th Space Wing Public
Affairs, Air Force Space Command News Service --ed.