Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng, An Airman's Story
Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng, An Airman's Story
Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng was born on April 12, 1918, in Laconia, New Hampshire. His early education began in a rural, one-room schoolhouse, a modest start that gave little hint of the extraordinary military career that would follow. In eighth grade, he transferred to Pittsfield High School, where he distinguished himself as a multi-sport athlete, playing football, baseball, and running track.
Thyng was also known for a mischievous streak. As a student, he once faced academic censure after striking a school superintendent with a snowball, a moment remembered as fondly as it was infamously. Despite such antics, he graduated in 1935 as the school’s valedictorian, demonstrating discipline and intellect alongside his athleticism.
He went on to attend the University of New Hampshire, where he studied pre-law and joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. His first experience with flight came during his college years. In 1938, Thyng famously took his future wife, then his girlfriend, on a date that involved flying from Logan Airport to Fenway Park. He graduated in 1939 and immediately enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps as an air cadet, earning his pilot’s wings in March 1940.
During World War II, Brigadier General Thyng’s first combat deployment was to England in 1942, where he commanded American pilots flying British Spitfires. Over the course of his European service, he flew at least 123 combat missions and earned the Silver Star for rescuing a fellow pilot under enemy fire. He was later assigned to North Africa in support of Operation Torch. There, Thyng and twenty-three other pilots held a captured base against enemy aircraft and ground forces for forty-eight hours until U.S. naval reinforcements could arrive.
Despite being shot down twice, Thyng continued to fly combat missions and was awarded a second Silver Star for gallantry during the Battle of Kasserine Pass. Soon afterward, he was redeployed to the Pacific Theater, where his missions focused heavily on enemy shipping and naval targets. He also flew long-range escort missions for B-29 bombers, including escorting the B-29 Bock’s Car during its mission to Nagasaki.
In the period between World War II and the Korean War, Thyng served as an instructor in the Air National Guard, passing on his experience to a new generation of aviators. In 1951, he deployed once more, this time to Korea.
During the Korean War, Brigadier General Thyng earned a third Silver Star and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. On multiple occasions, he remained airborne to protect his squadron despite low fuel levels and significant personal risk, demonstrating a consistent pattern of leadership under extreme pressure.
After returning from Korea, Thyng held senior command positions with the Air Defense Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and the Western Air Defense Area. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1966 after flying more than 650 combat missions across two wars.
In retirement, Brigadier General Thyng briefly entered the political arena, running as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from New Hampshire, though he narrowly lost. He also founded the New England Aeronautical Institute, which later became Daniel Webster College, continuing his lifelong commitment to aviation education. His later years were spent hunting and fishing in New Hampshire.
Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng died on September 24, 1983. He is buried at River View Cemetery in Barnstead, New Hampshire. His legacy is one of courage, endurance, and steadfast leadership, an airman who repeatedly held the line and held it well.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
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