Clinton D. "Casey" Vincent

Who was Clinton D. "Casey" Vincent?

Clinton D. "Casey" Vincent was an American flying ace who became the second youngest general officer in United States Army Air Forces history. Vincent was one of Claire Chennault's two top fighter commanders in the China Burma India Theater of World War II, and served as the model for two comic strip characters by Milton Caniff: "Colonel Vince Casey", and "Brigadier General P.G. 'Shanty' Town".

Vincent planned and carried out daring offensive air tactics in China, forming the 14th Air Force Forward Echelon which staged out of forward airfields to attack the enemy unexpectedly. The successful concept was twinned and reorganized by Chennault into two mixed-aircraft groups, with Vincent commanding one of them, the 68th Composite Wing. A string of Allied victories throughout 1943 caused the Japanese to plan a major retaliatory move. Beginning in May 1944, the airmen were hit repeatedly and forced into retreat as the Japanese implemented Operation Ichi-Go. Vincent's men demolished their valuable airbases and fell back to Chennault's stronghold at Kunming. Vincent returned to the U.S. afterward, his tour of duty complete.