Dick Rossi


 | Died : 17 / 4 / 2008 |
| Flight Leader Dick Rossi (deceased)
Dick Rossi was born in 1915 in Placerville, California. He entered the Navy for flight training in the fall of 1939 and soon became a Flight Instructor at Pensacola. Dick responded to the allure of adventure and resigned his Navy commission in 1941 to join the AVG. Serving with the First Pursuit Adam & Eves squadron, he engaged in his first combat mission over Burma in January 1942. Most of his missions were flown over Rangoon, although he was also assigned detached duty for the 2nd and 3rd squadrons as well, serving under all three AVG squadron commanders. His last AVG mission was flown over the East China front in July 1942, by which time he had achieved an official tally of 6.25 confirmed kills. After the AVG, Dick flew for CNAC and spent much of the
remainder of the war flying critical supplies over The Hump. By wars end, he had flown this perilous route over 735 times. Since the war, Dick Rossi has been involved in many various aspects of aviation and has carried on the AVG legacy, speaking worldwide and serving many years as President of the Flying Tigers Association. He died April 17th 2008. |