World War II fighter pilot Jim Kunkle is a highly decorated hero from that conflict. He is a member of the Legion of Valor of the United States of America and has been awarded the Air Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Croix de Guerre, and Purple Heart.
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Jim Kunkle's U.S. Army Air Corps P-38 fighter is shown parked next to a bombed out building in Belgium during WWII.
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Jim Kunkle flew fighter airplanes with the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII, including the P-38 shown in a painting hanging in his Santa Ynez office.
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An autographed magazine cover shows Jim Kunkle in World War II, standing in front of one of the P-38 fighters he flew for the U.S. Army Air Corps.
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Jim Kunkle holds a Normandy flag that was signed for him when he visited France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in World War II. He flew fighter airplanes with the U.S. Army Air Corps and was also involved in the Battle of the Bulge.
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A patch from Jim Kunkle's 401st Fighter Squadron in the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII is shown on his desk. It was brought to him by members of the re-activated 401st, who visited him from Nebraska. The image is from a line in "Off we go into the wild blue yonder" --"Here's a toast to the host of those Who love the vastness of the sky."
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A 1944 picture of an airplane landing strip above Omaha Beach in France, just after D-Day in World War II, shows Jim Kunkle's U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII parked near the bottom.
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Jim Kunkle points to his P-38 fighter parked at an airplane landing strip above Omaha Beach in France, just after D-Day in World War II.
