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Richard L. "Dix" Loesch
Richard L. "Dix" Loesch
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Richard L. "Dix" Loesch was a combat seasoned fighter pilot when he came to the squadron
having also served in the "Cactus Air Force" from Henderson field defending Guadalcanal.
He had shot down one enemy plane and had been wounded.
Shortly after checking in to the squadron he was loaned out and flew from the U.S.S. Nassau (CVE-16) during the invasion of Attu in the Aleutians.
Back in the squadron in the summer of '43, he was the first Navy pilot to be credited with shooting
down an enemy aircraft in both the F4F Wildcat and the F6F-3 Hellcat.
While in the squadron, about the only short-coming "Dix" ever had was that he could not
carry a tune while participating in the squadron off-duty songfests.
Christmas, 1943, the squadron met with our dear friends, Frank and Ethal Hoogs, at Wailiku, Maui
for Christmas
Dinner, at which time we joined the Hoogs
family and others, in memorializing our late skipper. "Butch O'Hare.
He later participated in the 21 plane Memorial Flight of Hellcats back to Barber's Point on Dec 26,
1943.
After the war "Dix", (holding a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautics), became the
lead test pilot of Boeing Aircraft and helped develop several of the jet transport aircraft in service today.
Dix was one of my heroes and showed me many things about being a fighter pilot.
- Hersch Pahl
Dix and Peg Loesch at Chigago Reunion in 1990
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Other
VF-6 Reunions
"For those who fought for it...
freedom has a flavor the protected will never know!"
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