Floyd Fulkerson Jr.

World War II fighter flier, west Little Rock developer dies at 96

Floyd Fulkerson is shown here from his days as a World War II pilot. He was shot down over the Philippines on Christmas Day 1944.
Floyd Fulkerson is shown here from his days as a World War II pilot. He was shot down over the Philippines on Christmas Day 1944.

Floyd Fulkerson Jr., the World War II fighter pilot nicknamed "Wingman to the Aces" who later helped lead the development of west Little Rock, died Monday, his wife confirmed. He was 96.

One shot-down plane shy of becoming an ace himself, Fulkerson provided cover for some of the greatest fighter pilots in American history, including Richard Bong, who shot down the most enemy planes of that war, and Charles Lindbergh, who before the war had made the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.

Fulkerson's exploits during World War II were fit for a Hollywood script. At one point, his P-38 Lightning was shot down behind enemy lines in the Philippines, where he crash-landed into a rice field, fracturing his back. Disguising his white skin with mud, anti-Japanese natives took Fulkerson in until a plane could land to rescue him on a makeshift landing strip he cleared using livestock.

He returned to U.S. soil to work on his family's farm before establishing his own real estate firm, where he was the driving force behind the development of west Little Rock's Pleasant Valley and Longlea neighborhoods and Chenal Parkway.

Ben Combs, a founding board member of the Arkansas Aviation Historical Society, met Fulkerson three decades ago. Fulkerson was one of the last remaining fighter pilots from World War II, Combs said.

"He was not a bragger," Combs said. "He seldom talked about his war service. But he was proud of it, and he'd tell war stories if someone engaged him."

Born April 6, 1921, in Little Rock, Fulkerson was raised on his family's farm near Scott. He joined the U.S. Army after hearing radio news reports about the Pearl Harbor attacks while he was home from college.

During the war, he completed more than 120 combat missions and was awarded 11 combat medals, including the Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Clusters, two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star from the U.S. Navy.

Fulkerson, one of only a handful of Army soldiers to receive a Navy Silver Star, shot down a kamikaze pilot who was flying toward a naval troop ship.

He shot down four enemy planes, but his main role was protecting other fighter pilots. In 2012, Flight Journal called Fulkerson a "great wingman," adding that the Little Rock native enabled great aces to succeed.

His wife, Brenda, described Fulkerson as sharp, funny, a gentleman and a great father. Even in his final years, he read several newspapers daily and had a charge account at Words­Worth Books & Co. in Little Rock.

"He'd only read hardback books," Brenda Fulkerson laughed.

His funeral is Friday at 3 p.m. in Second Presbyterian Church.

"He lived quality and quantity," his wife said. "He left this world a better place than he found it."

Metro on 11/02/2017

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