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			{{Short description\|American flying ace (1925–1980)}}
	{{Infobox Military Person
			{{Multiple issues\|
	\|name=Manuel John Fernandez, Jr.
			{{citation style\|date=October 2014}}
	\|lived={{birth date\|1925\|04\|19}} – {{death date and age\|1980\|10\|18\|1925\|04\|19}}
			{{more citations needed\|date=October 2014}}
	\|placeofbirth=]
	\|placeofdeath=], The Bahamas
	\|image=]
	\|caption=Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr. of the 334th Fighter Intercepter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing, became the 26th jet ace of the ] on February 18, 1953. He finished the war with fourteen and a half kills.<ref> The Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration. Retrieved ] 2006. </ref>
	\|nickname=Pete
	\|allegiance={{flag\|United States of America}}
	\|branch= {{air force\|United States}}
	\|serviceyears=1943–1963
	\|rank= ]
	\|commands=
	\|unit=334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing
	\|battles= ]<br>] <br>]
	\|awards=]<br>]<br>]
	\|relations=
	\|laterwork=1956 Bendix Trophy Air Race winner
	}}		}}

	'''Manuel John "Pete" Fernandez''' (], ] - ], ]) was the third-leading American ] in the ].
			{{Infobox military person
			\|name= Manuel John Fernandez, Jr.
			\|image= Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez Jr. of the 34th Fighter Intercepter Wing.jpg
			\|image_size=
			\|alt=
			\|caption= Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr. of the ] became the third highest ace in the ] with 14 1/2 kills.<ref> {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716125850/http://korea50.army.mil/history/factsheets/aces.shtml \|date=2007-07-16 }} The Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration. Retrieved October 3, 2006.</ref>
			\|nickname= Pete
			\|birth_date= {{Birth date\|1925\|04\|19}}
			\|birth_place= ]
			\|death_date= {{Death date and age\|1980\|10\|18\|1925\|04\|19}}
			\|death_place= ], The Bahamas
			\|placeofburial= ]
			\|allegiance= United States
			\|branch= ]<br/>]
			\|serviceyears= 1943–1963
			\|rank= ]
			\|unit= ]
			\|commands=
			\|battles= ]<br/>]<br/>]
			\|awards= ]<br/>]<br/>] (2)<br/>] (2)
			\|relations=
			\|laterwork= 1956 Bendix Trophy Air Race winner
			}}
			'''Manuel John "Pete" Fernandez, Jr.''' (19 April 1925 – 18 October 1980) was the third-leading American and ] ] in the ]. He was awarded the ] for extraordinary heroism in Korea on March 21, 1953.

	==Early life==		==Early life==
	Pete Fernandez was born in ], ] on April ~~19,~~ 1925.<ref> Acepilots.com, 2003. Retrieved ] 2006. </ref> His grandparents emigrated from ] and spent some years on the island of ] before finally arriving in the ]. Fernandez was raised in a working-class environment in ]. His father, an early ] enthusiast, became chief radio operator for ]. Pete grew up immersed in aviation and learned to fly before he could drive, earning his private ~~pilot’s~~ license at age fifteen.		Pete Fernandez was born in ], ] on 19 April 1925.<ref> Acepilots.com, 2003. Retrieved October 3, 2006.</ref> His grandparents emigrated from ] and spent some years on the island of ] before finally arriving in the ]. Fernandez was raised in a working-class environment in ]. His father, an early ] enthusiast, became chief radio operator for ]. Pete grew up immersed in aviation and learned to fly before he could drive, earning his private pilot's license at age fifteen. He graduated from ] in ] in 1943.

	==Military career==		==Military career==
			===World War II===
	]
			Fernandez enlisted in the ] on February 23, 1943. On November 5, though small in stature and just a high school graduate, he entered the Aviation Cadet Program. On November 20, 1944, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and received his ] through talent, determination and the enormous manpower needs of total war. In the first of many aerial teaching jobs, Fernandez served as a pilot instructor in ], then in ] and ], seeing no combat action during the war.
	In June 1943, at the height of ], Fernandez enlisted in the ] as an eighteen-year-old private. Though small in stature and just a high school graduate, he became a flying officer through talent, determination and the enormous manpower needs of total war. Fernandez saw no action in the world war, instead serving out the duration as a flight instructor in Texas. Against the Soviets in the 1948-1949 ], he was at the tip of his country's spear, providing fighter cover for the slow transport aircraft that were the aerial supply operation's backbone. This duty involved occasional hair-raising games of "chicken" with the Russians, but no shots were exchanged. After nearly a decade in uniform, Captain Fernandez finally experienced battle during the ], where during a nine-month tour in 1952-1953, he proved to be one of the best combat aviators of his generation.

			He re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served during the ] in 1948–1949. A member of the ], ] since November 1946, his squadron stationed at ] in Panama was sent to ] (air base), Germany to provide fighter cover for the slow transport aircraft that were the aerial supply operation's backbone. The 36th Fighter Group was conveyed to Europe by the carrier ] to the port of Glasgow, Scotland. The ] the group flew were assembled at Renfrew Airport and then flown to Europe. He served afterwards as a pilot instructor at ] in Nevada and ] in Texas.
	Fernandez was a crack marksman, one the best in the ] at that time in the tricky art of ]. Pete used stealth and cunning to stalk ]s rather than attacking impetuously, as other leading aces often did. His modus operandi in battle was to maneuver skillfully and trigger his guns only when he had attained an optimum firing position. Like all top guns in Korea, Fernandez routinely violated Chinese air space by crossing the ] into ] to hunt his elusive MiG quarry. Unlike many of that war's highest scorers, Pete had a reputation for taking care of his comrades and not being reckless with his wingman's safety in pursuit of air victories. The other four leading MiG Killers (], ], ] and ]) were all tremendous combat fliers, but also had reputations for occasionally flying their wingman into mortal danger while attempting to pump up their own personal tally.{{Fact\|date=January 2008}}

	==~~After~~ ~~Korea~~==		===Korean War===
			It was only after nearly a decade in uniform that Captain Fernandez finally experienced battle. His turn came in the ], where he served 124 missions with the ], ], from September 1952 to May 1953. He proved to be one of the best combat aviators of his generation. Prior to going to the Korean War, he was an advanced instructor at Nellis Air Force Base Gunnery School in Las Vegas, NV. Fernandez wanted to be part of the action in Korea and several times requested a transfer to the war. At the time the Air Force was reluctant to send its best instructors, preferring they lead the severe training regimen ongoing at Nellis. His requests were denied. Finally in frustration, Fernandez decided to begin a disobedience program. He began showing up at 5:00 AM – late, drunk, or sometimes AWOL. Ultimately the Air Force was forced into a choice, either court martial him, or send him to Korea. They sent him to Korea where he could use his extreme talents as a fighter pilot. Fernandez was a crack marksman, one of the best in the ] at that time in the art of ]{{Citation needed\|date=January 2009}}. Fernandez used stealth and cunning to stalk ]s rather than attacking impetuously. His modus operandi in combat was to maneuver skillfully and trigger his guns only when he had attained an optimum firing position. Like all top aces in Korea, Fernandez routinely violated Chinese air space by crossing the ] into ] to hunt his elusive MiG quarry. He had a reputation for taking care of his comrades and not being reckless with his wingman's safety in pursuit of air victories{{Citation needed\|date=January 2009}}. In Korea, he became the third highest ranking American ace with 14.5 kills. What is particularly interesting about this record is that he achieved it in a very short period of time, approximately nine months.
	] and Pete Fernandez meet with President ] at the White House, May 1953 (Photo: U.S. Air Force)]]
	In the spring of 1953, Fernandez returned home at the same time as his friend Joe McConnell, the "ace of aces" who had finished the war with sixteen kills. The two fighter pilots enjoyed a hero’s welcome, and were feted in city after city with parades and ceremonial keys. The new president, ], wanted to bask in their reflected glory and invited them for a private "debriefing" in the White House. The fighter pilots' next duty station was ]. McConnell got into ], a coveted billet for its excitement and career-enhancing potential, and was sent to newly-christened Edwards AFB. A major ] production about the top ace called ''Tiger In The Sky'' was in the works, and Fernandez–-stationed near ] at the time–-was an obvious choice to be the film's technical advisor. Suddenly, McConnell was dead, killed in a ] test accident. After the fatal Mojave crash, the film project was retitled ]. Released in 1955, it starred ] and ] as Joe and "Butch" McConnell. The cinematic result was more love story than war saga. Interestingly, the costars actually fell into folorn love during filming (they were married to other people) even as they played star-crossed lovers, as diligently chronicled by Allyson in her autobiography.
	Fernandez befriended Allyson on the set and after production ended, she and her husband, actor/director ] invited the ace and his family to their California ranch. There, Pete shared his battle experiences with filmmaker Powell, whose next project was a Korean War air combat picture entitled ] and starring ]. With much more realistic combat sequences than The McConnell Story, Powell's final film as director was released to good reviews in 1958. Fernandez and two other top Korea aces, ] and ], attended the premiere.
	] and ], 1956 or 1957 (Photo: Fernandez family. Used with permission.)]]
	In 1956, Fernandez won aviation’s prestigious ] by maximizing his speed and fuel consumption with old tricks learned while at war over Korea and ]. There was a level playing field in the 1956 Bendix run, as all six aviators in the competition were experienced Air Force fighter pilots. The aviators also rode the same mount, the USAF's hottest and newest fighter, the ]. The chosen route was Los Angeles to ], 1,118 miles from start to finish. Though aerial refueling was approved for the first time in race history, no USAF tanker planes were available, so the competing pilots did without. This situation made their pre-race calculations all the more critical, as there would be little margin for error. Always the thoughtful tactician, Pete stayed up late the evening before the event, meticulously plotting his flight profile to wring everything he could manage from each ounce of fuel. On August 31, the six aircraft lifted off from ] at dawn, one after another, with Fernandez leading the way. When Pete’s F-100 rolled past the finish line in Oklahoma City less than two hours later, there was just twenty gallons of fuel remaining in its tanks, enough to stay airborne about a minute. As in Korea, careful planning was critical to Fernandez’s Bendix triumph.
	], ] ] (Photo: Fernandez family. Used with permission.)]]
	After these colorful postwar achievements, in an effort to make rank, the jet ace sought assignment to flight testing. As a reserve officer, Fernandez would be forced to leave the service after twenty years unless he was tracked for higher command and given a regular commission. Hence, there was significant career pressure to get promoted. Given a break due to his war record, Pete was chosen in 1957 to try out for ] at ], though with just a high school degree, he was underqualified. Further complicating matters, Fernandez got caught up in a USAF campaign then underway to “professionalize” itself by weeding out officers who had no higher education. (Pete’s advancement from Miami teenager to military aviator had only been possible due to the Air Corps’ unique and massive 1942-1947 expansion from an auxiliary Army branch into a modern air service.) At Test Pilot School, the Floridian had arrived at a critical juncture that would change the rest of his life. Finding himself scholastically unprepared for the academic challenge (the TPS curriculum had just begun to emphasize aerospace engineering) Fernandez decided to cheat on one of the entrance requirements, a calculus research project, and got caught. This desperate act by the veteran flier, who wanted to rise as far as he possibly could in the officer ranks despite his working class educational background, instead sank his future with the Air Force permanently. Pete was subsequently posted as a recruiting officer in Miami, then shipped to ] as a military trainer. He retired with the rank of major upon reaching twenty years’ service in June 1963.

			] and "Pete" Fernandez meet with President ] at the White House in May 1953.]]
	==Civilian life==
	Once a civilian, the ace switched from fighter jets to multiengine ]s, but was unable to get work with the big passenger carriers due to his lack of a college education. Fernandez piloted ]s, ]s and bigger ]s and ]s with a variety of transport companies. Most of Pete's flying after he quit the military was done from a notorious ramshackle section of ] known as ]. This infamous airdrome was home to a colorful array of fly-by-night cargo outfits, ] and ](CIA) contract agents. Deciding it patriotic, and to get the adrenaline jolt he missed from his Air Force days, Fernandez plunged into this dangerous intrigue. In a mission whose details are still hidden in the shade, he was soon contracted by the CIA in 1965 to steal an unidentified aircraft (possibly a MiG-17) from an unidentified Latin American country (possibly Cuba). He pulled off the heist and used the money he earned for the job to buy his first home, in the Perrine section of Miami, not far from ]. At Homestead, Pete was able to keep connected with old buddies, occasionally stopping in the officers’ club for a drink. There, he also cultivated a relationship with a CIA contract agent named ] that would greatly influence the future course of events.
	]
	In 1972, Fernandez was contracted by the CIA to steal another Soviet-model aircraft, this time from ]. To prepare for the job, he first cultivated a relationship with a Peruvian air force officer. This contact became his ticket onto the airbase's restricted tarmac area. The targeted plane was an ], a model Fernandez had never seen before, let alone flown. The twin-engine turboprop was in itself unremarkable, but it contained a computer module that permitted its crew to drop cargo with extreme accuracy.

			On 13 May 1953, Fernandez was ordered out of Korea. The Air Force was in the habit of sending its aces home early to protect them, and Fernandez was then its #1 ace. Fighter piloting in war frequently carries with it a sense of great competition among the best pilots. By 18 May, Fernandez with 14.5 kills, was ahead of both Air Force Major ] with 14 kills, and Air Force Capt. ] (one of Fernadez's past trainees) with 13 kills. Fernandez had only been in Korea 9 months, while Jabara saw 28 months and McConnell 11 months of combat. On 18 May 1953, McConnell led a two jet mission in North Korea encountering 28 MiG-15s. It was during this last day of McConnell's tour in Korea that he destroyed three MiG's which moved him (16 air victories) ahead of both Fernandez and Jabara. On 15 July 1953, Jabara earned his last kill bringing his total to 15, and slightly ahead of Fernandez. When Fernandez returned to Nellis, he lamented that had the Air Force permitted him the two additional months, he would have maintained his #1 spot. Such was the state of their competition.
	Fernandez’s constant crewmate while flying with three separate transport companies in the 1960s and 1970s (], ] and ]) was ], himself a paramilitary pilot who had flown guns to ] during the 1957-1958 ]. After the Castro brothers took power in January 1959, Davis switched sides and began conspiring against them as a founding member of a private commando operation based in the ] called the Intercontinental Penetration force, or ]. A key comrade of Davis in InterPen was future Fernandez associate Gerry Hemming. Funded by the ] and the CIA, then allies in an endeavor to murder ], as well as ultra-rightwing American groups such as the ], InterPen trained Cuban exiles in guerrilla tactics for use in infiltrating their homeland on missions of sabotage and assassination. Years later, after InterPen had broken up, Davis flew cargo with Fernandez as his regular job, but was still secretly working on covert operations.

			Fernandez returned home at the same time as McConnell. The two fighter pilots enjoyed a hero's welcome, and were feted in city after city with parades and ceremonial keys. The newly elected president, ], wanted to ] and invited them for a private "debriefing" in the White House. The fighter pilots' next duty station was ]. McConnell got into ], a coveted billet for its excitement and career-enhancing potential, and was sent to newly christened Edwards AFB.
	<!-- Unsourced image removed: ] -->
	Howard Davis' comrade in arms, aviator and former Marine Gerry Hemming, was a strapping soldier of fortune and sometime CIA asset who was also a cofounder of InterPen. Hemming eventually got Fernandez involved in black operations in Peru, namely the 1972 Lima contract job stealing the Antonov for the CIA. Later, in the mid-1970s, Hemming pulled Fernandez into drug smuggling activity. Their goal in this hazardous work was to infiltrate Bahamas-Colombia trafficking networks and gather intelligence on them for a Miami federal antidrug task force. Casualty rates in clandestine dope runs were higher than they had been in combat squadrons in Korea. According to Hemming, he and Fernandez ultimately worked for the South Florida Drug Interdiction Task Force. The task force was based in Miami and included the ], ], ] and the ].

			===Hollywood movies===
	During their years working for the South Florida Task Force in 1977-1980, the last years of Fernandez’s life, he and Hemming provided key intelligence to the feds that led to their breaking up the “]” in 1979, then the biggest Colombian marijuana smuggling ring in the United States. Under deep cover, the pilots also provided critical background information for other long running investigations, even when the actual busts occurred some time after Hemming and Fernandez had left the work. These later-bearing fruits included Operations Grouper, Banco and Tiberon, all coordinated by the DEA, and most importantly, ].
			A major ] production was in the works about Captain McConnell called ''Tiger In The Sky.'' Fernandez, stationed near ] at the time, was an obvious choice to be the film's technical advisor. This billet included flying many stunts. Movie production was gearing up for shooting when suddenly, the top air ace was killed in a test accident in the ] on August 25, 1954. The film project was retitled ] with the tragic ending added and released in 1955. It starred actor ] and actress ] as Joe and "Butch" McConnell, with a cinematic result more love story than war saga. The film's tale is made more poignant knowing the movie stars fell into their own star-crossed romance—both were married to other people—even as they portrayed forlorn lovers. Allyson diligently chronicled the whole story in her 1982 autobiography.

			Fernandez befriended Allyson on the set and after production ended, she and her husband, actor/director ] invited the ace and his family to their California ranch. There, Pete shared his battle experiences with filmmaker Powell, whose next project was a Korean War air combat picture titled ], starring legendary actor ] and ]. Powell's final film was released to good reviews in 1958, and it contains much more realistic combat sequences than ''The McConnell Story.'' Fernandez and two other top Korea aces, Jabara and ], attended the movie premiere.
	In April 1980, Fernandez was imprisoned in a ] jail, an ordeal that lasted for seven weeks. He had been arrested in ] in a DC-6 that was "clean," though his crewmates were known to be involved in drug trafficking. He languished in rough conditions, using his jacket as a pillow on the concrete floor and surviving on plantains. Though Miami DEA agent Jim Harmon assured Pete’s wife Jill that his agency would get Fernandez home, nothing happened. Gerry Hemming suggested that it was probably better it turned out that way, for had the U.S. government come to Pete’s aid, it could have blown his cover and he might well have never gotten out of Colombia alive. As it turned out, Jill Fernandez was compelled to use the family’s life savings to pay a “fine” (effectively a bribe) in order to get her husband released from the squalid Barranquilla cellblock before conditions there broke his health. Once back in Miami, the tired and aging Fernandez was now broke and in debt. Friends insisted afterward that he felt some bitterness about it all, though Pete's sunny disposition meant that he still always had a new joke ready to keep everyone smiling. Whatever confluence of emotions he felt after the Colombian ordeal, facts show that Fernandez soon began planning what would be his last mission. With financial assistance from an associate, ] pilot James Killough, he obtained a twin-engine Piper Geronimo for a cannabis run to Colombia and back via the ]. The Piper’s stock engines were replaced with bigger ones, and the blunt nose was lengthened to carry more cargo. The factory landing gear was replaced with stronger struts and tires meant for rough terrain. Finally, to extend the aircraft’s range, extra gas tanks were affixed below each wing.
	]
	On the morning of ], 1980, Fernandez left ] on his last flight, after telling his wife he would be picking up some lobsters. Apparently, all went well with the marijuana pickup, but while flying alone on the return leg, laden with hundreds of pounds of “Colombian Gold,” Pete crashed and died in the early morning darkness of ] while attempting to land in a remote part of ].
	Former FBI agent Harold Copus, a South Florida Task Force veteran who recruited drug pilots as informants, says of the fliers he handled, <blockquote>“We used to have a saying about them: there are old pilots and are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. They were real cowboys, they would do things that were unbelievable! It was like the Wild West for them: bringing in drugs was like buying candy. The skies were full of these guys. And they went down. Fernandez crashed going into the Bahamas? A lot of guys crashed going into the Bahamas. We had reports of crashes in the Bahamas, we had reports of crashes in ]. Crashing was part of their business. It’s what those guys did!”</blockquote>

			===Post war career and Test pilot===
	Pete Fernandez and Gerry Hemming willingly flew these drug runs with no proof of their true identity hidden away in a government file, and paid a tremendous price for their decision. Fernandez died in disgrace, and Hemming spent nearly a decade Florida prison nicknamed "The Rock". Why did these men commit major felonies without a guarantee somewhere of their true purpose? Hemming puts it simply: the identity of undercover informants were "being sold out the back door" by federal employees to Colombian narcotraffickers. In this he is correct. In that era, government agencies, especially the DEA, were ridden with security problems. Two DEA agents in Boston were selling the identity of informants directly to narcotraffickers, court testimony later revealed, as was an agent in Miami. The Miami office was particularly suspect: another DEA agent there, a supervisor who headed up Operation Grouper (which used intelligence provided by Hemming and Fernandez) was later convicted of drug dealing.
			Fernandez served with ] at ], North Carolina, from August to September 1953, and then served with a series of fighter squadrons at ], California, from November 1953 to October 1956.

			In 1956, Fernandez had won aviation's prestigious ] by maximizing his speed and fuel consumption with old tricks learned while at war over Korea and ]. There was a level playing field in the 1956 Bendix run, as all six aviators in the competition were experienced Air Force fighter pilots riding the same mount, the USAF's newest fighter, the ]. The chosen route was Los Angeles to ], 1,118 miles from start to finish. Though aerial refueling was approved for the first time in race history, no USAF tanker planes were available, so the competing aviators did without. This situation made their pre-race calculations all the more critical, as there would be little margin for error. Pete stayed up late the evening before the event, meticulously plotting his flight profile to wring everything he could manage from each ounce of fuel{{Citation needed\|date=January 2009}}. On 31 August the six aircraft lifted off from ] at dawn, one after another, with Fernandez leading the way. When Pete's F-100 rolled past the finish line in Oklahoma City less than two hours later, there was just twenty gallons of fuel remaining in its tanks, enough to stay airborne about a minute. As in Korea, careful planning was critical to Fernandez's Bendix triumph.
	Given such realities, which of course street-level operatives like Hemming and Fernandez were well aware of, these men chose to work under extreme deep cover to prevent Colombian traffickers from discovering their activities and retaliating against them or their families. If caught, such undocumented operatives could be left to twist in the wind if their sponsors decide it convenient. When Pete suddenly died on Grand Bahama Island, Hemming suggested that it must have proved easier for federal agents who knew better to say nothing and let his death be simply drug-related.

			Fernandez served at ], California, from October 1956 to April 1957. He next sought assignment to flight testing in an effort to make rank. As a reserve officer, Fernandez would be forced to leave the service after twenty years unless he was tracked for higher command and given a regular commission. Hence, there was significant career pressure to get promoted. Pete was chosen in 1957, to try out for ] at ], though with just a high school degree, he was underqualified and clearly getting a break due to his war record. Further complicating matters, Fernandez was hindered by a USAF campaign then underway to "professionalize" the Air Force by weeding out officers who had no higher education. (Pete's advancement from Miami teenager to military aviator had only been possible due to the Air Corps' unique and massive 1942–1947 expansion from an auxiliary Army branch into a modern air service.) At Test Pilot School, the Floridian had arrived at a critical juncture that would change the rest of his life. Finding himself scholastically unprepared for the academic challenge (the TPS curriculum had just begun to emphasize aerospace engineering), Fernandez decided to cheat on one of the entrance requirements, a calculus research project, and got caught. This act sank his future with the Air Force permanently. Pete served as an Air Force Recruiter at ], and then ], Georgia, from April 1957 to January 1960.

			After completing Spanish Language School, he was then sent in August 1960 to ], ] as an advisor to the ]. He retired with the rank of major upon reaching twenty years' service on July 1, 1963.

			==Death==
			Fernandez died in a plane crash on October 18, 1980, while flying to ] from the ].<ref>"Manuel Fernandez, Korean War Ace, Killed Flying to Miami From Bahamas", by Joan Felischman and R. E. Dawkins, ''The Miami Herald'', October 21, 1980, p.1A</ref> He received obituaries in the '']'' and '']'', both of which mentioned widespread rumors that held he had been flying classified missions in central and south America for the CIA after his retirement from the U.S. Air Force.{{cn\|date=December 2024}}

	] (Photo: Fernandez family. Used by permission.)]]
	After Fernandez died, he received obituaries in the ] and the ].
	He is buried at ].		He is buried at ].

			==Awards and decorations==
			His decorations include:
			{\| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
			\|-
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|-
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=\|type=oak\|ribbon=Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg\|width=110}}{{Ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=oak\|ribbon=Silver Star ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=1\|type=oak\|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=1\|type=oak\|other_device=\|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=\|ribbon=Air Force Commendation ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=\|type=\|ribbon=AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=oak\|ribbon=Army_Good_Conduct_Medal_ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=oak\|name=American Campaign Medal ribbon\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=oak\|name=World War II Victory Medal ribbon\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=service-star\|ribbon=AirliftDev.jpg\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=1\|type=service-star\|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=3\|type=service-star\|name=KSMRib\|width=110}}
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=4\|type=oak\|name=Air Force Longevity Service ribbon\|width=110}}
			\|{{Ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=service-star\|ribbon=Armed_Forces_Reserve_Medal_ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=service-star\|name=Presidential Unit Citation (Korea)\|width=110}}
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=service-star\|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|{{ribbon devices\|number=0\|type=oak\|ribbon=Republic_of_Korea_War_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg\|width=110}}
			\|-
			\|}

			{\| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
			\|-
			\|colspan="12"\|]
			\|-
			\|colspan="6"\| ]
			\|colspan="6"\| ]
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br/>w/ 1 bronze ]
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br/>w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br/>w/ ]
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br>w/ 1 bronze ]
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br>w/ 3 bronze ]
			\|colspan="4"\|]<br/>w/ 4 bronze oak leaf clusters
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|-
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|colspan="4"\|]
			\|-
			\|}

			===Distinguished Service Cross citation===
			''Citation:''

			{{blockquote\|The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr., Captain, U.S. Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Pilot with the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, FIFTH Air Force, in action against enemy forces in the Republic of Korea on 21 March 1953. During a fighter swoop over North Korea, Captain Fernandez sighted a flight of thirty MIGs, and attempted to release his external fuel tanks in preparation for battle. However, one of the tanks failed to release, impairing the maneuverability of his aircraft. However, despite this handicap, he fearlessly initiated a fierce attack on the last two MIGs in the enemy formation. Closing to twelve hundred feet, he opened fire on one MIG, scoring hits on the fuselage and wing. As he was closing again, the other MIG attached him; however, by a skillfully executed maneuver, he gained tactical advantage over the attacker, and his bursts scored hits which caused the enemy pilot to eject himself from the uncontrollable aircraft. Captain Fernandez then turned again to his initial adversary and, closing dangerously to one hundred and fifty feet, fired several bursts which caused the MIG to burst into flame and go spinning to earth. Captain Fernandez's outstanding flying skill and extraordinary courage in attacking this greatly superior number of enemy aircraft despite the hindrance to maneuverability enabled him to completely destroy two enemy aircraft.<ref name="dsc">{{Cite web\|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=7016\|title = Manuel Fernandez - Recipient -}}</ref>}}

	==See also==		==See also==
			{{Portal\|Biography\|United States}}
	*]		*]
			*]

	==Notes==		==Notes==
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	discussion of different citation methods and how to generate		discussion of different citation methods and how to generate
	footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags		footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags
			---- -->
	----------------------------------------------------------- -->
	{{~~reflist~~}}		{{Reflist}}

	==References==		==References==
	<!--		<!--
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	===Government ~~Records~~===		===Government records===
	*Drug Enforcement ~~Agency (DEA)~~ investigative file #GFZE-80-9072 pertaining to Manuel John Fernandez, Jr. File was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.		* Drug Enforcement Administration investigative file #GFZE-80-9072 pertaining to Manuel John Fernandez, Jr. File was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
			* General Accounting Office. "DEA is Not Protecting National Security Information", GAO/IMTEC-92-31. February 19, 1992.

			===Military records===
	*General Accountability Office. “DEA is Not Protecting National Security Information", GAO/IMTEC-92-31. February 19, 1992.
			* "Operations in MiG Alley," 4th Fighter Interceptor Group, Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), microfilm roll #MO288.
			* "History of the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron," ''History of the Fourth'' November 1952, AFHRA, microfilm roll #MO287.
			* Far East Air Forces, General Order No. 244, May 21, 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #32076.
			* ''FEAF Intelligence Roundup,'' September 1952– May 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #K7398.

			===Magazine articles===
	*Morales, Ricardo. Deposition for 11th Circuit Court, Dade County Florida, April 2-5, 1982. (Available online at http://cuban-exile.com/menu2/2mono.html)
			* Farmer, James H. "The Hunters." ''Air Classics,'' June 1988.
			* Davis, Larry. "The Unknown Ace." ''Sabre Jet Classics,'' Summer 2004.
			* Kusama, Maria. "Report From Manchuria: Russians Did Fight In Korea." ''U.S. News & World Report'', December 31, 1954.
			* Schiller, Gerald. "Air Force Maverick." ''Aviation History,'' November 2006.
			* Zampini, Diego. "Clash of Titans Over Korea." ''Aviation History,'' November 2005.

	===~~Military~~ ~~Records~~===		===Newspaper articles===
			* {{cite news \|first=Robert \|last=Alden \|title=Sabres Score 12-MiG Bag in Day \|work=The New York Times \|date=May 19, 1953 }}
	*“Operations in MiG Alley,” 4th Fighter Interceptor Group, Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), microfilm roll #MO288.
			* {{cite news \|first=Robert \|last=Alden \|title=MiGs Lose To Art of U.S. Flying Men \|work=The New York Times \|date=May 31, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= Associated Press wire story \|title=Ran Short of MiGs, Fernandez Asserts \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 1, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= Associated Press wire story \|title=Two U.S. Aces Fly Home \|work=The New York Times \|date=May 23, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= Associated Press wire story \|title=2 Aces To Ask Ike For Combat \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 26, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Truman \|last=Felt \|title=Fernandez Wants Sleep, Not Praise \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 25, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Charles \|last=Fernandez \|title=Throngs Cheer Fernandez; Jet Ace Happy But Humble \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=May 31, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Michael \|last=Haddigan \|title=The Kingpin and His Many Connections \|publisher=Arkansas Gazette \|date=June 27, 1988 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Stephen \|last=Hedges \|title=Covert War Was Made In Miami \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=November 19, 1987 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Carl \|last=Hiaasen \|title=Federal Drug Agent Accused of Smuggling \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=August 27, 1982 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= International News Service wire story \|title=Air Force Has Proof Caucasians Fly Korea MiGs \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=May 25, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Rose \|last=Mallory \|title=Miami's Jet Ace Was Popular Student \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 28, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Fitz \|last=McAden \|title=How A War Hero Strayed From the Paths of Glory \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=November 17, 1980 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Radford \|last=Mobley \|title=Fernandez May Arrive Saturday, But Is 'Leery of All That Fanfare \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=May 26, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Radford \|last=Mobley \|title=Only Shortage Was MiGs \|publisher=Miami Herald \|date=May 27, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|title=Greeting Is Set For Fernandez \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 18, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|title=Fernandez Is Welcomed By Throngs At Airport \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 30, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|title=Modest Fernandez Shies From Credit For Heroic Deeds \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 31, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Milt \|last=Sosin \|title=Fernandez' Father Arrives To Join Welcome For Hero \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 29, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Baroness \|last=Stackelberg \|title=Big Delegation Turns Out To Welcome Capt. Fernandez \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|date=May 30, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= United Press International wire story \|title=Aces May Ask Ike to Order Return to Finish Korea Job \|newspaper=Washington Post \|date=May 26, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|last= United Press International wire story \|title=Battleship Shells Wonson 5 Hours; Five MiGs Felled in Korea \|work=The New York Times \|date=May 27, 1953 }}
			* {{cite news \|first=Jo \|last=Thomas \|title=Korea Jet Ace Recalled as Modest Hero \|work=The New York Times \|date=October 27, 1980 }}

			===Books===
	*“History of the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron,” ''History of the Fourth'' November 1952, AFHRA, microfilm roll #MO287.
			* ].'' They Flew the Bendix Race.'' New York: J.B. Lippincott Co. 1965.

			* {{cite book \|last=Werrell \|first=Kenneth P. \|title=Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea \|year=2005 \|publisher=Naval Institute Press \|location=Annapolis, MD \|isbn=1-59114-933-9}}
	*Far East Air Forces, General Order No. 244, May 21, 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #32076.

	*''FEAF Intelligence Roundup,'' September 1952- May 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #K7398.

	===Magazine Articles===
	*Farmer, James H. “The Hunters.” ''Air Classics,'' June 1988.

	*Davis, Larry. “The Unknown Ace.” ''Sabre Jet Classics,'' Summer 2004.

	*Hatch, John. “The Congo: Hostages, Mercenaries and the CIA,” ''Nation,'' December 14, 1964.

	*Hemming, Gerry (interview). “An Ex-CIA Man's Stunning Revelations on 'The Company,' JFK's Murder and the Plot to Kill Richard Nixon.” ''Argosy,'' April 1976.

	*Kelly, Jim. “The Fidel Fixation.” ''Miami New Times,'' April 17, 1997.

	*Kusama, Maria. “Report From Manchuria: Russians Did Fight In Korea.” ''U.S. News and World Report'', December 31, 1954.

	*Morley, Jefferson. “Contradictions of Cocaine Capitalism.” ''Nation,'' October 2, 1989.

	*Schiller, Gerald. “Air Force Maverick.” ''Aviation History,'' November 2006.

	*Yarbro, Stan. “The Conner Conspiracy.” ''Miami New Times,'' June 30, 1993.

	*Zampini, Diego. “Clash of Titans Over Korea.” ''Aviation History,'' November 2005.

	===Newspaper Articles===
	*{{cite news \|first=Robert \|last=Alden \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Sabres Score 12-MiG Bag in Day \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=The New York Times \|id= \|date=May 19, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Robert \|last=Alden \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=MiGs Lose To Art of U.S. Flying Men \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=The New York Times \|id= \|date=May 31, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= Associated Press wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Ran Short of MiGs, Fernandez Asserts \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 1, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= Associated Press wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Two U.S. Aces Fly Home \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=The New York Times \|id= \|date=May 23, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= Associated Press wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=2 Aces To Ask Ike For Combat \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 26, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Truman \|last=Felt \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Fernandez Wants Sleep, Not Praise \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 25, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Charles \|last=Fernandez \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Throngs Cheer Fernandez; Jet Ace Happy But Humble \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=May 31, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Michael \|last=Haddigan \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=The Kingpin and His Many Connections \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Arkansas Gazette \|id= \|date=June 27, 1988 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Stephen \|last=Hedges \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Covert War Was Made In Miami \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=November 19, 1987 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Carl \|last=Hiaasen \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Federal Drug Agent Accused of Smuggling \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=August 27, 1982 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= International News Service wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Air Force Has Proof Caucasians Fly Korea MiGs \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=May 25, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Rose \|last=Mallory \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Miami’s Jet Ace Was Popular Student \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 28, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Fitz \|last=McAden \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=How A War Hero Strayed From the Paths of Glory \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=November 17, 1980 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Radford \|last=Mobley \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Fernandez May Arrive Saturday, But Is ‘Leery of All That Fanfare \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=May 26, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Radford \|last=Mobley \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Only Shortage Was MiGs \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Herald \|id= \|date=May 27, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Greeting Is Set For Fernandez \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 18, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Fernandez Is Welcomed By Throngs At Airport \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 30, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Don \|last=Petit \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Modest Fernandez Shies From Credit For Heroic Deeds \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 31, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Milt \|last=Sosin \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Fernandez’ Father Arrives To Join Welcome For Hero \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 29, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Baroness \|last=Stackelberg \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Big Delegation Turns Out To Welcome Capt. Fernandez \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Miami Daily News \|id= \|date=May 30, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= United Press International wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Aces May Ask Ike to Order Return to Finish Korea Job \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=Washington Post \|id= \|date=May 26, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first= \|last= United Press International wire story \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Battleship Shells Wonson 5 Hours; Five MiGs Felled in Korea \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=The New York Times \|id= \|date=May 27, 1953 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	*{{cite news \|first=Jo \|last=Thomas \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Korea Jet Ace Recalled as Modest Hero \|url= \|format= \|work= \|publisher=The New York Times \|id= \|pages= \|page= \|date=October 27, 1980 \|accessdate= \|language= \|quote= }}

	===Books in English===
	*Agee, Philip.'' Inside the Company.'' London: Penguin Books, 1975.

	*Allyson, June. ''June Allyson.'' New York: Putnam Publishing Group, 1982.

	*Ayers, Bradley Earl. ''The War That Never Was: An Insiders Account of CIA Covert Operations Against Cuba.'' New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976.

	*Bruning, John. ''Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea.'' Washington DC: Brassey’s Inc., 1999.

	*Bucchi, Kenneth. ''C.I.A.: Cocaine In America? A Veteran of the CIA Drug Wars Tells All.'' New York: Shapolsky Publublishing, 1994.

	*Castillo, Celerino (with Dave Harmon). ''Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War.'' Buffalo, NY: Mosiac, 1994.

	*Cockburn, Alexander (with Jeffrey St. Clair).'' Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press.'' London: Verso, 1998.

	*Corn, David. ''Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA’s Crusades.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

	*Crane, Conrad. ''American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953.'' Lawrence, KS: Univ. Press of Kansas, 2000.

	*Davis, Larry. ''MiG Alley: Air to Air Combat over Korea.'' Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publishers, 1978.

	*Davis, Larry. ''The Fourth Fighter Wing in the Korean War.'' Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2001.

	*Dorr, Robert (with Warren Thompson). ''The Korean Air War.'' Osceola, WI: Motorbooks, 1994.

	*Doyle, Paul. ''Hot Shots and Heavy Hits: Tales of An Undercover Drug Agent.'' Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2005.

	*Dwiggins, Don,'' They Flew the Bendix Race.'' New York: J.B. Lippincott Co. 1965.

	*Elliston, Jon. ''Psywar on Cuba.'' New York: Ocean Press, 1999.

	*Escalante, Fabian. ''The Cuba Project: CIA Covert Operations Against Cuba, 1959-1962.'' Ocean Press: Melbourne, Australia, 2004.

	*Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation.'' Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1984.

	*Fischer, Harold. ''Dreams of Aces.'' Dallas, TX: Great Impressions, 2001.

	*Fusco, Pete. ''Moondog’s Academy of the Air and Other Disasters.'' San Jose, CA: Writers Club Press, 2000.

	*Gugliotta, Guy (with Jeff Leen). ''Kings of Cocaine.'' New York: Harper and Row, 1989.

	*Hopsicker, Daniel. ''Barry and the Boys: The CIA, the Mob and America’s Secret History.'' Eugene, OR: MadCow Press, 2001.

	*Hougan, Jim. ''Spooks: The Private Use of Secret Agents.'' New York: Bantam Books, 1979.

	*Levine, Michael. ''Deep Cover.'' New York: Dell Publishing, 1990.

	*Messick, Hank. ''Of Grass and Snow: The Secret Criminal Elite.'' Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

	*Parry, Robert. ''Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press and “Project Truth.”'' Arlington, VA: Media Consortium, 1999.

	*Persons, Albert. ''Bay of Pigs: A Firsthand Account of the Mission by a U.S. Pilot in Support of the Cuban Invasion Force in 1961.'' Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1990.

	*Reed, Terry (with John Cummings). ''Compromised: How the Presidency was Corrupted by the CIA.'' New York: Shapolsky Publishing, 1994.

	*Rendall, Ivan. ''Splash One: The Story of Jet Fighter Combat.'' London: Weidenfield & Nicholson, 1998.

	*Robbins, David. ''Heavy Traffic: 30 Years of Headlines and Major Ops from the Case Files of the DEA.'' New York: Chamberlain Bros., 2005.

	*Sabbag, Robert. ''Loaded: A Misadventure on the Marijuana Trail.'' Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2002.

	*Scott, Peter Dale (with Jonathan Marshall). ''Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies and the CIA in Central America.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991.

	*Sherwood, John Darrell. ''Officers In Flight Suits: The Story of American Air Force Fighter Pilots in the Korean War.'' New York: New York University Press, 1996.

	*Stahura, Barbara, ed.'' The F-86 Sabre Jet and Pilots.'' Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1997.

	*Stich, Rodney. ''Defrauding America: An Encyclopedia of Secret Operations by the CIA, DEA and other Covert Agencies.'' Reno, NV: Diablo Western Press, 2001.

	*Thomas, Tony. ''The Dick Powell Story.'' Burbank, California: Riverwood Press, 1993.

	*Thompson, Warren (with David McLaren). ''MiG Alley: Sabres vs. MiGs Over Korea.'' North Branch, MN: Specialty Press, 2002.

	*Trest, Warren (with Donald Dodd). ''Wings of Denial: The Alabama Air National Guard’s Covert Role at the Bay of Pigs.'' Montgomery, AL: NewSouth Books, 2001.

	*Tunner, William. ''Over the Hump.'' New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1964.

	*Turner, William (with Warren Hinckle). ''The Fish Is Red: The Story of the Secret War Against Castro.'' New York: Harper and Row, 1981.

	*Turner, William. ''Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and other Tails.'' Granite Bay, CA: Penmarin Books, 2001.

	*{{cite book \|last=Werrell \|first=Kenneth P. \|authorlink= \|coauthors= \|title=Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea \|year=2005 \|publisher=Naval Institute Press \|location=Annapolis, MD \|isbn=1-59114-933-9 }}

	*Zhang, Xiaming. ''Red Wings Over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union and the War in Korea.'' College Station, TX: Texas A & M Univ. Press, 2002.

	===Books in Spanish===
	*Arboleya, Jesus. ''La Contrarrevolucion Cubana.'' Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 2000.

	*Escalante, Fabien. ''El Complot: Objectivos JFK y Fidel''. Melbourne, Australia: Ocean Press, 2004.

	*Garcia, Nestor. ''Un “Paraiso” llamado Miami.'' Havana: Editora Politica, 2004.

	*Herrera, Alicia. ''Pusimos La Bomba... Y Que?'' Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 2000.

	*Herrera, Jose R. ''Licencia para Matar.'' Havana: Ediciones Verde Olivo, 1999.

	*Reinoso, Edith. ''Testimonio de una Emigrante.'' Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1974.

	*Suarez, Luis. ''America Latina y El Caribe: Medio Siglo de Crimen e Impunidad (1948- 1998).'' Havana: Zambon Iberoamericana, 2001.

	*Suarez, Jose. ''La Lucha Contra Bandidos en Cuba.'' Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1981.

	*Valdes, Raul. ''Angola: Fin del Mito de los Mercenarios.'' Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1976.

	==External links==		==External links==
	*Brief through 1963 with two photographs		*Brief through 1963 with two photographs
	*Marriage , ''Time'', November 30, 1953		*Marriage , ''Time'', November 30, 1953
	*, ''Sabres and Aces: These rare color images present some of the pilots and aircraft that made history in the Korean War'', ''~~Air~~ ~~Force~~ Magazine'', September 2006, p. 81.		*, "Sabres and Aces: These rare color images present some of the pilots and aircraft that made history in the Korean War", ''AIR FORCE Magazine'', September 2006, p. 81.

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Manuel J. ~~"Pete"~~}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Manuel J.}}
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Latest revision as of 16:13, 17 December 2024

American flying ace (1925–1980)

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Manuel John Fernandez, Jr.
Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr. of the 334th Fighter-Intercepter Squadron became the third highest ace in the Korean War with 14 1/2 kills.
Nickname(s)	Pete
Born	(1925-04-19)April 19, 1925 Key West, Florida
Died	October 18, 1980(1980-10-18) (aged 55) Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force
Years of service	1943–1963
Rank	Major
Unit	334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Battles / wars	World War II Berlin Airlift Korean War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Air Medal (2)
Other work	1956 Bendix Trophy Air Race winner

Manuel John "Pete" Fernandez, Jr. (19 April 1925 – 18 October 1980) was the third-leading American and United States Air Force ace in the Korean War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in Korea on March 21, 1953.

Early life

Pete Fernandez was born in Key West, Florida on 19 April 1925. His grandparents emigrated from Spain and spent some years on the island of Cuba before finally arriving in the United States. Fernandez was raised in a working-class environment in Miami. His father, an early amateur radio enthusiast, became chief radio operator for Pan American World Airways. Pete grew up immersed in aviation and learned to fly before he could drive, earning his private pilot's license at age fifteen. He graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Florida in 1943.

Military career

World War II

Fernandez enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 23, 1943. On November 5, though small in stature and just a high school graduate, he entered the Aviation Cadet Program. On November 20, 1944, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and received his pilot wings through talent, determination and the enormous manpower needs of total war. In the first of many aerial teaching jobs, Fernandez served as a pilot instructor in Midland, Texas, then in San José, Guatemala and Panama, seeing no combat action during the war.

He re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Berlin Airlift in 1948–1949. A member of the 23rd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group since November 1946, his squadron stationed at Howard Field in Panama was sent to Fürstenfeldbruck AB (air base), Germany to provide fighter cover for the slow transport aircraft that were the aerial supply operation's backbone. The 36th Fighter Group was conveyed to Europe by the carrier USS Sicily to the port of Glasgow, Scotland. The USAF Lockheed F-80 jets the group flew were assembled at Renfrew Airport and then flown to Europe. He served afterwards as a pilot instructor at Nellis AFB in Nevada and Randolph AFB in Texas.

Korean War

It was only after nearly a decade in uniform that Captain Fernandez finally experienced battle. His turn came in the Korean War, where he served 124 missions with the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group, from September 1952 to May 1953. He proved to be one of the best combat aviators of his generation. Prior to going to the Korean War, he was an advanced instructor at Nellis Air Force Base Gunnery School in Las Vegas, NV. Fernandez wanted to be part of the action in Korea and several times requested a transfer to the war. At the time the Air Force was reluctant to send its best instructors, preferring they lead the severe training regimen ongoing at Nellis. His requests were denied. Finally in frustration, Fernandez decided to begin a disobedience program. He began showing up at 5:00 AM – late, drunk, or sometimes AWOL. Ultimately the Air Force was forced into a choice, either court martial him, or send him to Korea. They sent him to Korea where he could use his extreme talents as a fighter pilot. Fernandez was a crack marksman, one of the best in the Air Force at that time in the art of deflection shooting. Fernandez used stealth and cunning to stalk MiGs rather than attacking impetuously. His modus operandi in combat was to maneuver skillfully and trigger his guns only when he had attained an optimum firing position. Like all top aces in Korea, Fernandez routinely violated Chinese air space by crossing the Yalu River into northeast China to hunt his elusive MiG quarry. He had a reputation for taking care of his comrades and not being reckless with his wingman's safety in pursuit of air victories. In Korea, he became the third highest ranking American ace with 14.5 kills. What is particularly interesting about this record is that he achieved it in a very short period of time, approximately nine months.

On 13 May 1953, Fernandez was ordered out of Korea. The Air Force was in the habit of sending its aces home early to protect them, and Fernandez was then its #1 ace. Fighter piloting in war frequently carries with it a sense of great competition among the best pilots. By 18 May, Fernandez with 14.5 kills, was ahead of both Air Force Major James Jabara with 14 kills, and Air Force Capt. Joseph McConnell (one of Fernadez's past trainees) with 13 kills. Fernandez had only been in Korea 9 months, while Jabara saw 28 months and McConnell 11 months of combat. On 18 May 1953, McConnell led a two jet mission in North Korea encountering 28 MiG-15s. It was during this last day of McConnell's tour in Korea that he destroyed three MiG's which moved him (16 air victories) ahead of both Fernandez and Jabara. On 15 July 1953, Jabara earned his last kill bringing his total to 15, and slightly ahead of Fernandez. When Fernandez returned to Nellis, he lamented that had the Air Force permitted him the two additional months, he would have maintained his #1 spot. Such was the state of their competition.

Fernandez returned home at the same time as McConnell. The two fighter pilots enjoyed a hero's welcome, and were feted in city after city with parades and ceremonial keys. The newly elected president, Dwight Eisenhower, wanted to bask in their reflected glory and invited them for a private "debriefing" in the White House. The fighter pilots' next duty station was California. McConnell got into flight testing, a coveted billet for its excitement and career-enhancing potential, and was sent to newly christened Edwards AFB.

Hollywood movies

A major Hollywood production was in the works about Captain McConnell called Tiger In The Sky. Fernandez, stationed near Los Angeles at the time, was an obvious choice to be the film's technical advisor. This billet included flying many stunts. Movie production was gearing up for shooting when suddenly, the top air ace was killed in a test accident in the Mojave Desert on August 25, 1954. The film project was retitled The McConnell Story with the tragic ending added and released in 1955. It starred actor Alan Ladd and actress June Allyson as Joe and "Butch" McConnell, with a cinematic result more love story than war saga. The film's tale is made more poignant knowing the movie stars fell into their own star-crossed romance—both were married to other people—even as they portrayed forlorn lovers. Allyson diligently chronicled the whole story in her 1982 autobiography.

Fernandez befriended Allyson on the set and after production ended, she and her husband, actor/director Dick Powell invited the ace and his family to their California ranch. There, Pete shared his battle experiences with filmmaker Powell, whose next project was a Korean War air combat picture titled The Hunters, starring legendary actor Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner. Powell's final film was released to good reviews in 1958, and it contains much more realistic combat sequences than The McConnell Story. Fernandez and two other top Korea aces, Jabara and Royal N. Baker, attended the movie premiere.

Post war career and Test pilot

Fernandez served with Ninth Air Force at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, from August to September 1953, and then served with a series of fighter squadrons at George Air Force Base, California, from November 1953 to October 1956.

In 1956, Fernandez had won aviation's prestigious Bendix Trophy Race by maximizing his speed and fuel consumption with old tricks learned while at war over Korea and China. There was a level playing field in the 1956 Bendix run, as all six aviators in the competition were experienced Air Force fighter pilots riding the same mount, the USAF's newest fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre. The chosen route was Los Angeles to Oklahoma City, 1,118 miles from start to finish. Though aerial refueling was approved for the first time in race history, no USAF tanker planes were available, so the competing aviators did without. This situation made their pre-race calculations all the more critical, as there would be little margin for error. Pete stayed up late the evening before the event, meticulously plotting his flight profile to wring everything he could manage from each ounce of fuel. On 31 August the six aircraft lifted off from Victorville, California at dawn, one after another, with Fernandez leading the way. When Pete's F-100 rolled past the finish line in Oklahoma City less than two hours later, there was just twenty gallons of fuel remaining in its tanks, enough to stay airborne about a minute. As in Korea, careful planning was critical to Fernandez's Bendix triumph.

Fernandez served at Edwards Air Force Base, California, from October 1956 to April 1957. He next sought assignment to flight testing in an effort to make rank. As a reserve officer, Fernandez would be forced to leave the service after twenty years unless he was tracked for higher command and given a regular commission. Hence, there was significant career pressure to get promoted. Pete was chosen in 1957, to try out for Test Pilot School at Nellis Air Force Base, though with just a high school degree, he was underqualified and clearly getting a break due to his war record. Further complicating matters, Fernandez was hindered by a USAF campaign then underway to "professionalize" the Air Force by weeding out officers who had no higher education. (Pete's advancement from Miami teenager to military aviator had only been possible due to the Air Corps' unique and massive 1942–1947 expansion from an auxiliary Army branch into a modern air service.) At Test Pilot School, the Floridian had arrived at a critical juncture that would change the rest of his life. Finding himself scholastically unprepared for the academic challenge (the TPS curriculum had just begun to emphasize aerospace engineering), Fernandez decided to cheat on one of the entrance requirements, a calculus research project, and got caught. This act sank his future with the Air Force permanently. Pete served as an Air Force Recruiter at Coral Gables, Florida, and then Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, from April 1957 to January 1960.

After completing Spanish Language School, he was then sent in August 1960 to Buenos Aires, Argentina as an advisor to the Argentine Air Force. He retired with the rank of major upon reaching twenty years' service on July 1, 1963.

Death

Fernandez died in a plane crash on October 18, 1980, while flying to Miami from the Bahamas. He received obituaries in the Miami Herald and The New York Times, both of which mentioned widespread rumors that held he had been flying classified missions in central and south America for the CIA after his retirement from the U.S. Air Force.

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards and decorations

His decorations include:

USAF Command Pilot badge
Distinguished Service Cross		Silver Star
Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster	Air Medal w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster		Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Presidential Unit Citation	Army Good Conduct Medal		American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal	Army of Occupation Medal w/ Berlin Airlift Device		National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 bronze service star
Korean Service Medal w/ 3 bronze campaign stars	Air Force Longevity Service Award w/ 4 bronze oak leaf clusters		Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation	United Nations Korea Medal		Korean War Service Medal

Distinguished Service Cross citation

Citation:

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Manuel J. Fernandez, Jr., Captain, U.S. Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Pilot with the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, FIFTH Air Force, in action against enemy forces in the Republic of Korea on 21 March 1953. During a fighter swoop over North Korea, Captain Fernandez sighted a flight of thirty MIGs, and attempted to release his external fuel tanks in preparation for battle. However, one of the tanks failed to release, impairing the maneuverability of his aircraft. However, despite this handicap, he fearlessly initiated a fierce attack on the last two MIGs in the enemy formation. Closing to twelve hundred feet, he opened fire on one MIG, scoring hits on the fuselage and wing. As he was closing again, the other MIG attached him; however, by a skillfully executed maneuver, he gained tactical advantage over the attacker, and his bursts scored hits which caused the enemy pilot to eject himself from the uncontrollable aircraft. Captain Fernandez then turned again to his initial adversary and, closing dangerously to one hundred and fifty feet, fired several bursts which caused the MIG to burst into flame and go spinning to earth. Captain Fernandez's outstanding flying skill and extraordinary courage in attacking this greatly superior number of enemy aircraft despite the hindrance to maneuverability enabled him to completely destroy two enemy aircraft.

Notes

Korean Aces Archived 2007-07-16 at the Wayback Machine The Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration. Retrieved October 3, 2006.
Manuel "Pete" Fernandez – The Search for the Hispanic Ace of the Korean War that was violence Acepilots.com, 2003. Retrieved October 3, 2006.
"Manuel Fernandez, Korean War Ace, Killed Flying to Miami From Bahamas", by Joan Felischman and R. E. Dawkins, The Miami Herald, October 21, 1980, p.1A
"Manuel Fernandez - Recipient -".

References

Government records

Drug Enforcement Administration investigative file #GFZE-80-9072 pertaining to Manuel John Fernandez, Jr. File was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
General Accounting Office. "DEA is Not Protecting National Security Information", GAO/IMTEC-92-31. February 19, 1992.

Military records

"Operations in MiG Alley," 4th Fighter Interceptor Group, Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), microfilm roll #MO288.
"History of the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron," History of the Fourth November 1952, AFHRA, microfilm roll #MO287.
Far East Air Forces, General Order No. 244, May 21, 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #32076.
FEAF Intelligence Roundup, September 1952– May 1953, AFHRA, microfilm roll #K7398.

Magazine articles

Farmer, James H. "The Hunters." Air Classics, June 1988.
Davis, Larry. "The Unknown Ace." Sabre Jet Classics, Summer 2004.
Kusama, Maria. "Report From Manchuria: Russians Did Fight In Korea." U.S. News & World Report, December 31, 1954.
Schiller, Gerald. "Air Force Maverick." Aviation History, November 2006.
Zampini, Diego. "Clash of Titans Over Korea." Aviation History, November 2005.

Newspaper articles

Alden, Robert (May 19, 1953). "Sabres Score 12-MiG Bag in Day". The New York Times.
Alden, Robert (May 31, 1953). "MiGs Lose To Art of U.S. Flying Men". The New York Times.
Associated Press wire story (May 1, 1953). "Ran Short of MiGs, Fernandez Asserts". Miami Daily News.
Associated Press wire story (May 23, 1953). "Two U.S. Aces Fly Home". The New York Times.
Associated Press wire story (May 26, 1953). "2 Aces To Ask Ike For Combat". Miami Daily News.
Felt, Truman (May 25, 1953). "Fernandez Wants Sleep, Not Praise". Miami Daily News.
Fernandez, Charles (May 31, 1953). "Throngs Cheer Fernandez; Jet Ace Happy But Humble". Miami Herald.
Haddigan, Michael (June 27, 1988). "The Kingpin and His Many Connections". Arkansas Gazette.
Hedges, Stephen (November 19, 1987). "Covert War Was Made In Miami". Miami Herald.
Hiaasen, Carl (August 27, 1982). "Federal Drug Agent Accused of Smuggling". Miami Herald.
International News Service wire story (May 25, 1953). "Air Force Has Proof Caucasians Fly Korea MiGs". Miami Herald.
Mallory, Rose (May 28, 1953). "Miami's Jet Ace Was Popular Student". Miami Daily News.
McAden, Fitz (November 17, 1980). "How A War Hero Strayed From the Paths of Glory". Miami Herald.
Mobley, Radford (May 26, 1953). "Fernandez May Arrive Saturday, But Is 'Leery of All That Fanfare". Miami Herald.
Mobley, Radford (May 27, 1953). "Only Shortage Was MiGs". Miami Herald.
Petit, Don (May 18, 1953). "Greeting Is Set For Fernandez". Miami Daily News.
Petit, Don (May 30, 1953). "Fernandez Is Welcomed By Throngs At Airport". Miami Daily News.
Petit, Don (May 31, 1953). "Modest Fernandez Shies From Credit For Heroic Deeds". Miami Daily News.
Sosin, Milt (May 29, 1953). "Fernandez' Father Arrives To Join Welcome For Hero". Miami Daily News.
Stackelberg, Baroness (May 30, 1953). "Big Delegation Turns Out To Welcome Capt. Fernandez". Miami Daily News.
United Press International wire story (May 26, 1953). "Aces May Ask Ike to Order Return to Finish Korea Job". Washington Post.
United Press International wire story (May 27, 1953). "Battleship Shells Wonson 5 Hours; Five MiGs Felled in Korea". The New York Times.
Thomas, Jo (October 27, 1980). "Korea Jet Ace Recalled as Modest Hero". The New York Times.

Books

Dwiggins, Don. They Flew the Bendix Race. New York: J.B. Lippincott Co. 1965.
Werrell, Kenneth P. (2005). Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-933-9.

External links

Brief biography through 1963 with two photographs
Marriage announcement, Time, November 30, 1953
Color photograph of Fernandez in Korea, "Sabres and Aces: These rare color images present some of the pilots and aircraft that made history in the Korean War", AIR FORCE Magazine, September 2006, p. 81.

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