Local winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross and well-known local realtor John Wilson died Oct. 21.

He joined the newly formed Air Force with his brother Jim Wilson on Aug. 28, 1950, two months after the outbreak of the Korean War.

He used his credits from Wilmington College to enter as an aviation cadet and by February of 1953 he was flying as a fighter bomber in America’s first production fighter jet, the F-80 Shooting Star. After 37 missions he began flying the faster and more maneuverable F-86 Sabre out of K-13 Suwon Airbase south of Seoul, an airbase still in use by the Republic of Korea.

“We were fighter bomber pilots, which means we rolled in at about 20,000 feet and dove on the target,” Wilson said in a 2007 interview. “We had guys above we called MIG chasers. They protected us from the enemy aircraft sneaking in to nail us in the tail while we were concentrating on our target. You had to concentrate on your target, which means you couldn’t fly off of it. You dropped the bomb and pulled out and got back with your group. Then you flew home and reported on your mission.”