Walter Francis Chapin, Jr.

Walter Francis Chapin, Jr. was born on March 9, 1922, in Post Falls, Idaho, the son of Walter F. Chapin, Sr. and Elizabeth M. Chapin. Walter had an older sister, Elizabeth, born in 1918, and a younger sister, Helen, born in 1924. Walter Sr. was a pharmacist and owned his own drug store in town while their children attended Post Falls high school. By 1940 the family’s circumstances had not changed much. Walter Sr. now listed his occupation as a “druggist” at a “retail drug store,” perhaps opting to sell his own business and take up working for a retailer.  

After graduating from Post Falls High School, Walter, Jr. enrolled at Whitworth College in Spokane. Walter Jr. was a busy boy in 1938 – 1940 performing in school activities, planning events, starring in local plays, performing his music at various functions, and ever the dutiful son, returning home to see family on breaks on vacations from school. At the end of 1940 Walter decided what he wanted to do with his life and transferred from Whitworth College to enroll at in the music and education programs at Washington State College in Pullman, Washington. Walter made a lot of great decisions in his short life up to 1941, but it was his decision to transfer to Washington State College that proved to be his best choice, not because he would be a Cougar for the rest of his life, but because that is where he met Lois.

Lois Chisholm was in the music program at Washington State College when Walter arrived from Whitworth. She was the daughter of Reverend and Mrs. W.O. Chisholm of Pullman. It was at this exact moment, however, that the world outside threatened to encroach on Walter and Lois’s budding relationship. Walter and Lois courted from 1942 and 1943, through the Pearl Harbor attacks and a declaration of war between the United States and the Empire of Japan, with a declaration of war coming from Nazi Germany just four days after Pearl Harbor. Walter enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps on March 24, 1943, during his senior year at WSC and then finally asked Lois to be his wife.  

Walter, Jr. became a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. He received his primary flight training at King City, California and basic training at Chico, California. He then continued to his advanced training at Luke Field, in Arizona where he earned his wings on January 7, 1944. He and Lois were married on January 20, 1944, and shortly after the newlyweds left for Tallahassee, Florida, for Walter to complete his fighter pilot training, flying the P-51 Mustang. 

Walter was promoted to the rank of F/O, or Flight Officer, and assigned to the 376th Fighter Squadron of the 361 Fighter Group of the Eighth Air Force. The 361st was assigned the famed P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes, but the 376th Squadron was assigned the newest model of the P-51D. The P-51D could carry extra fuel tanks on its wings, with top-of-class speed, maneuverability, and outstanding armament, it was a dangerous fighter that was capable of escorting long range heavy bombers deep into the heart of Germany where they could finally target its most vital logistical operations (factories, railroad depots, airfields, vehicle parks, etc.). Upon his arrival in England Walter was stationed at Bottisham airfield until the 361st was reassigned to Little Walden Airfield on September 26, 1944. Walter quickly made a name for himself as a fighter pilot. Newspapers back home eagerly followed the exploits of their native son as he toured the skies of the European theater. “In his last letter to his parents F/O Chapin said that he had flown over nearly every large city in Germany and had been over Berlin and Leipzig on the day that he wrote the letter.” His duties varied depending on necessity, and the unique capabilities of the P-51 made it suitable to all types of missions. “He was engaged in strafing, dive-bombing, escorting bombers and supporting advancing forces in France he said in his letters.” But perhaps what he was best known for, and the actions that won him the air medal, was his dog-fighting talents. “A recent news release from the Eighth Air Force Fighter Station in England stated: ‘Flight Officer Walter F. Chapin Jr., of Post Falls, Idaho, destroyed two FW 190’s recently near Rothwesten, Germany,” extolled the Pullman Herald. “His squadron established a new European Theater of Operations squadron record by bagging 18 FW 190’s (Focke-Wulf 190 German fighter planes) in the air. Three additional aircraft were destroyed on the ground.” Walter and his wing mates had just finished escorting their bombers to their run on Rothwesten when, in his words, a “gaggle” of FW 190’s descended from the clouds and began firing at the bombers. They then dove into a lower level of cloud cover when Chapin and the P-51’s gave chase. “I singled out one of them” recalled Walter, “and followed him for about 120 miles, finally getting him into combat at about 500 feet. I got on his tail, have him a short burst and he bailed out, his plane winging into the ground.” Walter then broke off contact and searched for a new target, laying eyes on another FW 190, and pursuing once more. “He tried every trick in the book, but I finally got him too.” Wrote Walter. “Chapin’s latest victories give him a total of three enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat. He flies a P-51 Mustang named ‘Angel Puss.’” Another newspaper claims the name of his plane was the “Sugar Puss,” but this researcher could not find a record of a P-51 with that name, however “Angel Puss,” does have a record in the database (Number: 44-13888). These incredible feats were the events of October 10, 1944. Unfortunately, October 11, 1944, came.

The Angel Puss, or Sugar Puss, was not the plane that Flight Officer Chapin was flying on October 11, 1944. For whatever reason, perhaps his plane was damaged or needed repairs after his successful dogfights the day before. But his plane was not ready that day. Walter jumped into the cockpit of another P-51 (Number: 42-106802) called “Blue Eyes.” He took off from Little Walden but there was a structural failure in one of the aircraft’s systems when trying to land. The plane crashed at Little Walden, killing him instantly. Flight Officer Chapin engaged in 17 combat missions over enemy territory in just his last 34 days of service. These missions included patrols of the Siegfried Line and of airborne attacks in the Ruhr Valley with targets including Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Hamburg, and Rothwesten, wrote Walter’s father in his well-cited letter to E.O. Holland. He won his first dogfight in the skies over Magdeburg, shooting down an ME 109 (Messerschmidt 109 fighter plane) before his two-plane day over Rothwesten.

Walter was memorialized and laid to rest next to his brothers in arms at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Coton, South Cambridgeshire, England in Plot F, Row 7, Grave 33. On June 10, 1945, the Spokesman-Review reported that Walter had been awarded the Air Medal for his valor in the face of the enemy in the skies over Nazi occupied Europe. Lois attended the medal ceremony and accepted the honor on behalf of her Fallen Husband. Walter is also memorialized at his Alma Mater, today called Washington State University.