Lieutenant Tom Killefer
No Photo Available

| Lieutenant Tom Killefer
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Hermosa Beach, Killefer attended Stanford University, where he played varsity baseball and was elected student body president. He earned his law degree at Harvard and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University in England. Tom Killefer joined the navy in 1941, and was posted to his first operational squadron, VF-18, first seeing combat in October 1943. He flew 58 combat missions, scoring 4 victories, and a number of unconfirmed probables. Like all navy pilots he had a large number of deck landings, and saw action in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Flying the F4F and F4U he took part in the great air battles over Bougainville and the massive campaign against Rabaul. Tom Killefer earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy Air Medal and a Purple Heart. Sadly Tom Killefer died at the age of 79 on Sunday 16th June 1996 in Portola Valley, California. |